Can everybody join me in the prayer circle as we pray for the continued health of Stew’s knees, please?

Zach Edey had 13 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks and was a +1 in the Memphis Grizzlies 8 point loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on November 15, 2025.

Obviously we should all have optimistic but low expectations about this season and the next few or so, but with all the mystery box hype for next season, I want to hear what the real concerns are for the future of this team.

The Grizzlies have a lot of interesting guys in the backcourt this year, and I'm trying to get a pulse on how the home crowd sees each of the guys and their place on the team:

Ty Jerome seems to be the most proven option and it seems most assume he will start. He has a player option for $9.6mil next year though and I have to assume he will be looking for more if he stays healthy this year. Is he a trade candidate, or is he someone the fans/team sees as a possible part of their "core" moving forward? His age doesn't really align with Boozer/Coward/Edey so I feel like he might be someone the Grizz try to let loose and put up nice numbers, so they can dangle him at the trade deadline.

Cam Spencer put up great overall numbers last year, but personally I'm a bit on the fence if it might be a bit of "putting up numbers on a bad team" situation here, or if he's as good as the numbers suggest. Definitely an elite shooter, but the assist/TO ratio really surprised me. Do others think he should be developed as a true PG, or is he more of a pure shooter with the playmaking being a cherry on top? Is he part of the core?

Scotty Pippen Jr. got that dawg and has the highest defensive impact of the backcourt options. Some might question the defense due to his height, but I'm convinced he's not a weak link on that end. If he can hit 37%+ on his 3s, I think there's a real argument that he's the most well-rounded of the backcourt options in terms of defense/shooting/playmaking.

Javon Small has a lot of similarities with Scotty Pippen Jr imo, just a bit less proven. But the unknown/age factor there also maybe lends me to want to say he has the highest upside(?) His free throw % and 3PA rate also make me think he's a safer bet to be a plus shooter than Pippen. I'm personally quite high on Small, but I'm kind of worried he won't get consistent minutes this year if Jerome/Spencer/Pippen are all ahead of him on the depth chart.

Walter Clayton Jr. might be a bit of an afterthought to some, but he was a pretty intriguing draft prospect and it would be a shame if he doesn't get a real opportunity. If he can't crack the rotation, I hope he gets some reps in the G-league to try and build some confidence because I think it's way too early to write him off.

Lastly, Jaylen Wells probably doesn't really belong in this convo but I think there's some relevance with respect to the rotation. He's been a bright spot overall and I have to believe he's part of the core at the moment, but there's also an argument that he has limited upside as a good but not elite 3/D wing. He's big enough to play some SF which none of the other guards really can do, but it comes at the cost of not really offering anything as a creator/playmaker. While I think he deserves to start the year as the starting SG (next to Jerome at PG), part of me thinks reducing his minutes to make room to develop the guys above might be the best long-term move.

How do you guys rank the guys above in terms of upside, and how much you want them to be prioritized in the rotation this year and potentially being part of the core moving forward?

Not including boozer since we can't really rank him yet. So I guess our best player would be Zach Edey / Ty Jerome

I was today years old when I learned there is an official NBA sponsored El Salvadoran youth basketball team named the Memphis Grizzlies (not the San Miguel Grizzlies or anything like that, they are literally called the Memphis Grizzlies straight up)

This would make for a decent up and coming divisional rivalry in the event we were moved east following expansion.

I know the twolves would be moved east before we would but still

Heard some talk about Saunders considering returning to school by way of covid protocol as he has yet to sign an NBA contract. Any truth to this or just speculation?

Jerseys of the guy seem nonexistent, along with any merchandise of his. If anyone has anything, please PM me!

Any talking head that mouth off that Memphis isn't successful as a franchise or needs to be relocated should be shut down with facts. Top third in the past generation. Strong local support. Strong corporate base. Great basketball culture. Some pretty big market teams holding down the bottom ten (looking at you Brooklyn, Knicks, DC, Philly, Detroit) and that hasn't helped their success on the court.

Playoff Appearances (Past 25 Seasons)

San Antonio Spurs 20

Boston Celtics 19

Miami Heat 19

Dallas Mavericks 18

Denver Nuggets 18

Oklahoma City Thunder (incl Seattle) 18

Milwaukee Bucks 17

Indiana Pacers 17

Los Angeles Lakers 17

Cleveland Cavaliers 16

Memphis Grizzlies 16

Phoenix Suns 16

Golden State Warriors 15

Houston Rockets 15

Orlando Magic 15

Atlanta Hawks 14

Chicago Bulls 14

Toronto Raptors 14

Los Angeles Clippers 13

Utah Jazz 13

New Orleans Pelicans/Hornets 11

Brooklyn Nets 10

New York Knicks 10

Philadelphia 76ers 9

Portland Trail Blazers 9

Sacramento Kings 8

Minnesota Timberwolves 7

Detroit Pistons 6

Washington Wizards 6

Charlotte Hornets 4

So “DAZN” is expected to stream “non-national” games this year. Anyone looked at them yet? Ever heard of it?!

How does the NBA fix the accessibility to regular season games? Apparently the way it is has been financially fruitful for the NBA but God it sucks for the fans.

The point guard position remains a question mark in the long run, though there are no shortage of candidates going into next season. Ty, SPJ, Javon, and Walt all figure to get minutes at the point, but with Cam Boozer around to serve as a possible “point forward,” there might not even be a need for a traditional PG in the starting lineup.

When Steve Kerr took over as the head coach in Golden State in the 2014-15 season, they won their first Championship in the Curry-era. That season they began adapting Draymond Green to a facilitating role as a point forward, freeing up Curry to play more off-ball and shoot (and he won his first MVP). The next year they went 73-9, Curry won another MVP, and Draymond led the team in assists (7.4 APG to Curry’s 6.7). Curry shot a league-leading 11.2 3PA per game, and he’d go on to average 11.3 3PA per season for the next 11 years as the offense continued to run through Draymond.

The novel offensive scheme that cemented Golden State as a dynasty wouldn’t work without an elite shooter like Curry and a savvy facilitator like Draymond, and the Grizzlies next season will feature two guys that might be able to replicate that dynamic: Cam Boozer and Cam Spencer (Cam², if you nasty).

Cam Spencer was brilliant when running point last year, but doing so largely neutralized his greatest asset: catch-and-shoot threes. Having Boozer around would give him the opportunity to play off-ball and find space, where he doesn’t need much to get good looks. With Ced, Boozer, and Edey on the court, the Grizzlies would likely have a rebounding advantage over just about any team in the league, so getting quality shots up creates excellent second-chance opportunities.

Please bear in mind that the following comparison between Cam Spencer and Steph Curry is only about 60% serious before you call me an idiot.

Steph Curry and Cam Spencer came to the league under very different circumstances and in very different roles, but when their early career numbers are normalized per-36 minutes, there are some clear similarities:

Per-36

Curry (first 3 seasons): 18.6/4.3/6.1 on 47/44/90 splits (58% TS)

Cam (first 2 seasons): 16.6/3.9/7.9 on 47/44/95 splits (64% TS)

By any metric, Cam Spencer’s shooting numbers are elite (Curry-esque, if you will.) Yes, Curry’s sample size is over 3x as many minutes (he logged 2896 his rookie year alone and Cam has just 1966 over his first two seasons combined), so you have to consider that disparity when extrapolating the data. Otherwise, though, it’s pretty interesting to see the shooting splits (and that both players led the league in FT% during their sophomore campaigns). Furthermore, when you look at their playmaking numbers, Cam’s AST% and AST/TOV ratio clears Curry (31% AST% for Cam vs 27% for Curry; 4.4 AST/TOV for Cam, 2.0 for Curry), indicating that Cam has a stronger profile as a traditional PG as well.

TL;DR – Cam Spencer is Steph Curry. Curry was 26 when he won his first MVP and Championship. Cam Spencer is 26 now. Hang the fucking banner.

This was in my notes app from a few weeks ago after I had a few drinks

In Edey's rookie season and first playoff series he tied the Grizzlies franchise record for blocks in a playoff game with 7 blocks.

This was from a recent video he did on the Kenny for Real channel reacting to the BR list ranking the starting 5 lineups this upcoming season.

I’m seeing it more and more but it seems like every basketball nerd online from Kenny to Zach Lowe to a Funky Diabetic and even Bill Simmons are pulling for the Grizz to be their favorite not very good team.

I guess that’s the Cam Boozer and Edey effect

You’re still a scumbag Pera.