Following their tumultuous 2023-24 campaign where they won a mere 27 games, Memphis Grizzlies fans were starved for any semblance of successful on-court action from their beloved franchise.
This offseason, they finally got what they’ve been craving… well, sort of.
The Grizzlies proved to be one of the top teams participating in this year’s Summer League, the association’s annual tournament featuring rookie, sophomore, and G League affiliate players all looking for an opportunity to keep their NBA dreams alive.
Going 5-1 during the Las Vegas stretch of play, Memphis almost managed to win it all this past Monday evening during the Championship round, though fell just short of achieving such a feat in overtime, losing to the Miami Heat by a final score of 120-118.
Risers and fallers from Memphis Grizzlies Summer League team
While they failed to run the gauntlet and pull out a miraculous 6-0 record during these offseason exhibitions, the individual performances put forth by some of the club’s participants certainly deserve the attention and praise from both fans, pundits, and, in some instances, the actual organization itself.
Of course, not all who logged minutes found themselves excelling — In fact, there were a few who severely disappointed and, in some ways, played a direct part in the ultimate demise of the Grizzlies.
When examining both the good and bad play from this year’s Summer League, there are three players, in particular, who seemed to raise their stocks and one who saw theirs plummet.
Riser: GG Jackson
After the sensational first-year campaign he had where he finished as the only second-round pick to earn an All-Rookie team nod, it was hard to argue that his stock was pointing anywhere but up heading into year two.
Through six games played during this year’s Summer League, all signs suggest he’s on track to continue his ascension during his upcoming sophomore run.
Pacing the team in points (22.0), rebounds (8.5), and field goals made (7.8) averages, Jackson took on a leading man role with the Grizzlies during the tournament where, in the end, he proved quite comfortable in.
Seemingly improving with every passing contest, by the time Summer League came to its conclusion, it had been well established that the 19-year-old had shown advancements in his long-range shooting stroke (cashed in on 37.5 percent from deep), rebounding acumen, and creation skills (2.2 per game).
While it’s hard to expect he’ll reproduce these numbers during the regular season when forced to take a back seat to the likes of Ja Morant, Desmond Bane, and Jaren Jackson Jr., what his production showed is that he’s capable of turning it on when needed, especially on the offensive end, and could make him exactly what this team could use at the sixth or seventh man spot within the rotation.
Riser: Zach Edey
Considering he’s now ranked as the top threat to take home the 2024 Rookie of the Year award following just one and a half games played during this year’s Summer League, one could realistically argue that Zach Edey is the biggest riser, not only on the Grizzlies but from the entire tournament.
When Memphis opted to select the 7-foot-4 center ninth overall, many had gone about and voiced their concerns about his skills not translating to the next level, with some such as NBA Draft analyst Kryten Peek going as far as to declare the decision as “one of the worst picks I’ve seen in Draft history.”
In a total of just 42.1 minutes played, however, it seems the two-time AP Player of the Year winner has put these fears to rest.
During this time of play, Edey would average 10.0 points, 9.0 boards, and 2.5 blocks on 66.7 percent shooting from the field.
While his activity was cut short due to an ankle injury that was reaggravated right before halftime upon his return to the hardwood on July 18, in his limited time on the court the behemoth big showed the type of skill set that made him Memphis’ pick in this past lottery and why some are penciling in the Grizzlies as being a threat to become one of the top teams in the conference this year.
Faller: Jaylen Wells
Jaylen Wells came into the Summer League with a lot of hype attached to him.
Though he was selected in the early stages of the second round, following his impressive one-and-done season at Washington State last year, the 20-year-old was viewed by some scouts as a fringe first-round talent due, in large, to his impressive long-range shooting, an area where he cashed in on a whopping 41.7 percent of his 4.9 attempts per game in 2023-24.
As a result of his seemingly trusty shooting form, the Grizzlies decided to extend a full-time contract in his direction, with $3.4 million of his potential $7.9 million in earnings guaranteed.
Unfortunately for him, however, he hasn’t yet proven the franchise right to invest in his potential, as his Summer League was incredibly difficult to watch for a multitude of reasons.
For every 28-point performance on 85.7 percent shooting from deep (as he had against the LA Clippers), Wells would seemingly have a 6-point game on 0-of-3 shooting from deep and 1-of-6 shooting from deep to cancel it out.
Even during the team’s Championship matchup against the Heat, a game he was handed the starting two-guard spot for, the wing was nowhere to be found, as he registered a mere 8 points while shooting just 37.5 percent from the floor and 33.3 percent from deep en route to, ultimately, fouling out and watching his team lose by two points.
Though hope is far from lost for Wells to live up to his deal and the decision by the Grizzlies to snatch him up with the 39 overall pick in June’s draft, his highly inconsistent play and wonky jumper throughout Summer League were not what was expected from him.
Riser: Scotty Pippen Jr.
Though he may not have won MVP of the tournament, there’s a strong argument to be made that Scotty Pippen Jr. was the best player in all of Summer League this year.
The third-year pro has only proven capable of excelling when serving as a pure point guard and floor general, and that’ exactly what he did when playing the role during the Las Vegas tournament.
From his defensive excellence to his distribution skills, Pippen was making his presence felt all over the place when on the floor, and his stellar averages of 21.5 points, 8.7 assists, 5.0 rebounds, and 3.3 steals on 46.1 percent shooting only help strengthen such a notion.
An incredibly underrated producer during his debut campaign with the Grizzlies in 2023-24, the 23-year-old showed true flashes of brilliance and overall potential of being a full-time contributor on the varsisty team moving forward rather than as a two-way frequenter.
His play was so impressive, that many are now arguing that Pippen should be promoted to being Ja Morant’s primary backup point guard, a role previously held by the similarly skilled Tyus Jones.
When combining his contributions from both last season (12.9 points, 4.7 assists, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.7 steals on 49.3 percent shooting and 41.7 percent shooting from deep) with this year’s Summer League, it seems only right that Zach Kleiman and company reward him for his top-notch efforts.
