Getty Murray State guard Ja Morant is expected to be the Grizzlies No. 2 pick.
It is a new era for the Memphis Grizzlies after the team traded Mike Conley to the Utah Jazz. The Grizzlies are receiving a package including Grayson Allen, Jae Crowder and draft picks, per The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
“Utah is sending Grayson Allen, Kyle Korver, Jae Crowder and draft compensation to Memphis for Mike Conley Jr., league sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium,” Charania tweeted.
The move comes just a few months after the Grizzlies traded Marc Gasol to the Raptors prior to the trade deadline. This means the Grizzlies are in full rebuild mode after shipping out the core of their team for the last decade. Here is a look at the projected Grizzlies roster and starting lineup after the trade. Keep in mind this roster will change after the draft and free agency.
Grizzlies Roster & Starting Lineup 2019-20
C: Jonas Valanciunas, Tyler Zeller, Joakim Noah, Ivan Rabb
PF: Jaren Jackson Jr., Chandler Parsons, Yuta Watanabe
SF: Jae Crowder, Kyle Anderson, Dillon Brooks, CJ Miles, Julian Washburn
SG: Grayson Allen, Kyle Korver, Justin Holiday, Avery Bradley,
PG: Ja Morant*, Delon Wright, Jevon Carter
*Ja Morant is expected to be the Grizzlies selection with No. 2 pick.
The Mike Conley Trade Essentially Confirmed the Grizzlies Are Drafting Ja Morant
The Conley trade points to the wide expectation that the Grizzlies are going to draft Ja Morant at No. 2. Morant now becomes the team’s franchise point guard, and the Conley deal allows them to get his massive contract off the books. Conley still has two years left on his deal and is slated to make $32.5 million next season, per Spotrac. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported the details on the draft pick that the Grizzlies are receiving from the Jazz.
“The Jazz will send a protected 2020 first-round pick to the Grizzlies, league sources tell ESPN. That pick will convey as a late-lottery pick in 2020 or 2021, or become a lightly-protected pick from 2022-’24. Deal complete on July 6,” Wojnarowski tweeted.
The Grizzlies just met with Morant in Memphis, per the Commercial Appeal.
Morant said owner Robert Pera was there. So was team president Jason Wexler, 31-year-old executive vice president of basketball operations Zach Kleiman and most of the other prominent members of the organization’s revamped front office.
“Everybody but the coaches,” Morant said in a telephone interview with The Commercial Appeal Tuesday afternoon.
“It was mainly just me learning them and them getting to know me,” he added. “We were getting to know each other.”
The Grizzlies are looking to pair Morant with Jaren Jackson, their first-round pick from 2018, to be part of the new Memphis core. Morant started the season as more of an unknown prospect to most fans, but solidified his draft status with his play in both the conference and NCAA tournaments with Murray State.