Grizzlies draft night summary and new player scouting reports
Memphis added quite a few new names to the roster on draft night. Here's what you need to know about them.
What an interesting draft night for the Grizzlies. I guess that we should expect nothing less from Kleiman and co., who have a tendency - nay, an addiction - to make draft night trades to move up and get their guys.
Memphis started the night with picks #22 (Utah), #29, and #47. They walked away from draft night by adding four players and sending one to play a role in the Process.
The Grizzlies selected three guys with size and shooting ability and a speedy homegrown point guard who is tough on defense. Cleary, they are content with the core that they currently have and decided this draft to go with players with higher floors and lower ceilings - in contrast to the Ziaire Williams selection last year.
The first move of the night was a trade with Minnesota, in which the Grizzlies traded both of their first round picks to the Wolves in exchange for pick #19 and a 2023 second round pick. At #19, the Grizzlies selected Jake LaRavia out of Wake Forest. There were quite a few mocks that had Memphis selecting LaRavia at #22, but apparently the team felt higher on him than that and gave up the draft capital to make the move.
Here is my original scout on LaRavia, who is a 20 year old Junior who spent his first two years of college and Indiana State. Most mocks had him as a late first round or early second round selection. LaRavia impacts the ball on both sides of the court and one thing that stood out to me is that he understands that he is going to be a role player and seems to carry himself with a chip on his shoulder. This selection feels like an attempt to replace the likely departing free agent Kyle Anderson.
My original notes on LaRavia:
Jake LaRavia, Junior - Wake Forest
Forward, 6’9”, 228 lbs
14.6 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 3.7 apg
55.9% / 38.4% / 77.7%
Big dude who can stretch the floor with over 50% on long twos and 38% from three. Low volume on threes, but was the best in the three point star drill among frontcourt (17/25)
2.7 stocks per game
Can definitely guard traditional 4’s when they are away from the hoop
Switched a lot on defense at wake
High defensive BBIQ
Dependable defender who stays home, defends with verticality, and solid on the weak side
Not a creator of his own shot from faceup, prefers to turn into a post-up possession
Strong and finished on 67% on close two’s
Sneaky good passer with 20% assist rate and 3.7 dimes per game
Smart cutter with good finishing ability
Pretty good ball-handling for someone of his size, was shorter and a PG for a while in high school
Excels as a C&S guy instead of someone who creates his own shot
A little slow laterally, so will struggle with guarding smaller and quicker players outside
In interviews he calls out that he is a role player who can do whatever is needed
Could be a solid stretch 4 who can give you some outside shooting and good defensive effort
With their second move of the night, the Grizzlies traded De’Anthony “Mr. Do Something” Melton to the Sixers in exchange for Danny Green and the 23rd overall pick. Kleiman said that Danny Green’s future with the Grizzlies is TBD.
With pick #23, Memphis took David Roddy from Colorado State. Going into the draft, I had my eye on EJ Liddell of Ohio State as a guy who should be of interest to Memphis.
One thing that many championship teams have is that strong tweener guy who can help them in multiple ways in a playoff series. Think Draymond Green, PJ Tucker, Grant Williams etc. Roddy is definitely a big body.
Roddy is a massive dude who scored efficiently in college and has surprising athleticism for his size. He is a knockdown shooter and was a high usage player in his Junior season. He and LaRavia could both play a similar role with the Grizzlies, with Roddy perhaps more of a creator. Hopefully one of them hits and that would be a success.
Here’s my scouting notes on Roddy:
David Roddy, Junior - Colorado State
Wing, 6’6”, 252 lbs
19.2 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 2.9 apg
57.1% / 43.8% / 69.1%
High usage, high efficiency player
Over 2 STOCKS per game
64.9 true shooting with eFG% of 63.4
He is huge and powerful, solid ability to jump off of 2 feet
Fun ball handling abilities
Spin move towards and away from hoop with a post-up package as well, loves the spin move
Great three point shooting on over 100 attempts
Good vision to teammates with quick whipping passes
Very physical and slows down/speeds up the game as he pleases
Near 7’ wingspan
Potential to be a knock down shooter and I like his offensive game with his good touch even with tremendous size
Not to leave all the action in the first round, the Grizzlies did a second round pick swap with the Spurs, getting the #38 pick this year for sending out a 2024 second rounder from the Lakers.
In a heartwarming turn of events, Memphis drafted hometown baller Kennedy Chandler - a point guard out of Briarcrest by way of Tennessee. Chandler is just six foot, but he’s a fighter and a tough defender. He has good speed and athleticism and is a winner. Will be able to make up for his height in the league? Time will tell. Chandler was often viewed as one of the best point guards in this year’s class.
Kennedy Chandler, Freshman - Tennessee
Point, 6’ 170 lbs
13.9 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 4.7 apg,
46.4% / 38.3% / 60.6%
Very quick and surprising ability to leap
Lays it high off the glass on layups to avoid getting blocked
Excellent C&S guy
Wingspan of 6-5 and highest max vertical at the combine
Savvy passer. Nothing fancy, but is efficient and knows where to put the ball
Operates craftily in the PnR. A strength of his for sure
2.2 steals per game, very solid on defense with his quick hands and feet
He will be a pest on defense and hustle hard. Obviously is undersized, but on the right defensive minded team, they could help cover up any inefficiencies he may have due to stature
Doesn't shy away from firing away threes - nearly 4 attempts per game
Needs to develop a runner as he won’t be able to create dunks for himself as easily at the next level
Not great going to his left
Tough player for his size and works his butt off on D
Believe it or not, the Grizzlies kept one of the picks that they started the night off with - pick #47. They added VCU senior Vince Williams Jr. with this selection. Williams is an experienced 3-D wing who is good at a lot of things but not particularly elite. He has decent athleticism and a nice shooting stroke. I’m curious how he will keep up with the quicker wings out there and how/if he will break into the rotation.
Vince Williams Jr., Senior - VCU
Wing, 6’6”, 210 lbs
14.1 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 3.0 apg
47.7% / 38.7% / 81.4%
High volume three point shooter
2.7 STOCKS per game
Good shooter at all levels
C&S, PnP, can pepper in threes from all over the court, frequently shoots over opponents
Good passer, 19.6 assist rate
Ok athlete, but nothing eye-popping
Can run the break and does have the ability to thread the needle with passes, also lots of skip passes
Efficient, medium usage guy, strong rebounder
Seven foot wingspan
Smart off-ball player on defense
Struggled to guard some bigger players and also smaller quicker players
Consistent role player who isn’t excellent at things, but isn’t a liability
Could be a team contributor on both ends of the floor if he can get a little better and defense and keep up the shooting. Ceiling is probably a bench 3-D guy, but probably can’t keep up with elite wings of the league
Also, Kenneth Lofton Jr. signed with the Grizzlies in a two-way slot. Memphis is loading up on interesting guys 6’6” and up.
Kenneth Lofton Jr., Sophomore - Louisiana Tech
Forward, 6’7”, 275 lbs
16.5 ppg, 10.5 rpg, 2.8 apg
53.9% / 20.0% / 67.2%
Only 19 three point attempts,, hit a few at draft combine
246 close two’s at a 63% clip
Crafty footwork in the post
Can jump better than expected, jump off two feet and dunk strong
Z-Bo vibes with his bully ball and left hand lol, super creative near the rim and finds ways to score the ball with his touch
Variety of up and unders, quick releases near the rim
“Jump” shot looks smooth, will need this in NBA because he probably won’t get as much at the rim due to playing against better and taller post players
6’11” wingspan
Decent passing skills
Not the quickest so perimeter defense is a question
5.5 FTA but struggled to convert, did improve 7 percentage points from freshman season