With the fanfare and hype surrounding the NBA Finals due to finish soon, many teams will look into their offseason itinerary to best prepare for their next campaign in the 2023-2024 season. The upcoming slew of trades, free agency signings, and roster cuts will inevitably shake up the league’s landscape, and, in one way or another, the Memphis Grizzlies must be involved.
After missing the postseason entirely, Taylor Jenkins’ squad will look to turn a keen eye toward potential roster changes in an attempt at once again rising the ranks out in the Western Conference standings.
After dealing away Steven Adams during this season’s trade deadline, the Grizzlies have a new dilemma in the form of how they plan to approach their starting unit.
Will Jaren Jackson Jr. play the primary center role? Perhaps the club brings in someone new to play alongside him in a “double big” lineup?
With multiple centers available on the impending trade block, Memphis could feasibly choose to go all in defensively and add another imposing piece to work alongside two of the three most recent Defensive Player of the Year Award winners in Trip-J and veteran guard Marcus Smart.
Recent trade idea has Grizzlies swing on former All-Defensive center
Although the Grizzlies will be looking to upgrade in the offseason, Zach Kleiman and company will have challenges ahead as they attempt to improve without giving up too many assets in the process.
With plenty of players potentially being dealt this summer, including another defensive-minded center, it’s more reasonable to extrapolate that Memphis may go after a target with a potentially less strenuous price tag.
Stacking the team even further defensively can aid in contending with the intense offensive engines across the league. Combined with careful scheming from the coaching staff to be implemented, the Grizzlies could look to secure themselves as one of the league’s top defenses if they pursue an exchange with a particular conference rival.
Breaking down a potential trade
Not having enough defensive paint presences in a Western Conference that features a trove of prominent bigs is an easy-to-see concern that the Grizzlies will look to rectify in the offseason, and there will be several potential candidates to sift through.
Among candidates sitting in the offseason already waiting for a trade is Robert Williams III, who is currently signed on with the Portland Trail Blazers for the next two seasons. The 26-year-old will be coming off a shortened season after injuries derailed his first year with the team.
At the moment, a player such as Williams would have a relatively small trade market, as lack of recent results and a mid-level contract (owed roughly $26 million over the next two years) makes him less than ideal to most teams.
That said, the former All-Defensive Second-Team big could fill multiple roles with the team, including a potential starting spot as a center, or working with the bench unit as part of a frontcourt rotation.
Acquiring Williams from the Trail Blazers shouldn’t be the most difficult of tasks to accomplish, as the Grizzlies have draft assets and a variety of young but promising players who could thrive in a new environment and role.
Memphis Grizzlies Receive: Robert Williams III, 34th Overall Pick
Portland Trail Blazers Receive: Ziaire Williams, 39th Overall Pick
The trade scenario would move fourth-year player Ziaire Williams, who has shown flashes of potential and has a more reasonable contract with a team option left for his final year in 2024-25, to the Blazers in exchange for Robert Williams while swapping second-round draft picks.
Moving down five spots in the draft will entirely depend on Portland’s draft plan. Whether they have specific preferences for the second round or not, the ability to move Williams’s contract after a negligible impact would be a positive move for the rebuilding team.
In addition to his defensive prowess, Williams will be reunited with former Boston Celtics teammate Marcus Smart out in Grind City, which should ease the transition to a new team and help build a quicker level of dynamic defensive chemistry.
Grading the trade: Do the Grizzlies swing on Robert Williams III?
In terms of fit, adding Williams to the team seems like a reasonable choice given his potential defensive upside paired alongside other key pieces and a natural spot in the four-five position.
With that being said, there’s still reasonable concern over trading for the still young big man, as Williams played a meager six games this past season and has previously missed games during his tenure with the Celtics.
This Robert Williams III block 😳
Celtics lead the Spurs 68-57 at halftime.
📲 https://t.co/1pomQZMAZK pic.twitter.com/yL6q3xP3lG
— NBA (@NBA) January 8, 2023
The hope is that he would have been able to take time this past year to reevaluate how he has conditioned himself to be more durable and available for games. With the practices and facilities, it’s feasible that he could come back in his best shape yet and play 65+ games.
Planning for the worst-case scenario would lead the Grizzlies to be rightfully cautious when giving up assets to potentially secure the defensive anchor.
At the same time, there’s an immense potential upside on both the offensive and defensive end. This, in turn, can help to free up other key players and propel the team forward.
The obvious concern is the health of Williams’ knee post-surgery, which ended his season early in 2023-2024, and will likely need to be addressed ahead of time if the Blazers intend to try and move him for any substantial package.
On top of this, the Grizzlies will have to continue navigating the overall team salary and decide how far into extra tax areas they’re willing to go to solidify their upcoming roster.
Barring major setbacks post-surgery, the 26-year-old will hopefully be able to take steps towards returning to his daunting form which had netted him All-Defensive honors during the 2021-2022 season.
The nature of the trade itself is centered around the idea that Zaire Williams, who will only have a year left on his contract, will be able to try and start fresh with the Trail Blazers and hopefully live up to his initial top-10 draft hype. Williams will add to the defensive core that the Grizzlies will use to vault themselves back into the upper echelon of the Western Conference.
Given the potential upside, it’s a reasonable risk for Memphis to take when securing further assets for their currently depleted frontcourt, while also an opportunity to move their underwhelming lottery talent after yet another lackluster campaign with the club.
Overall, the potential improvement of the defensive prowess of the Grizzlies with the addition of a player such as a healthy Robert Williams III combined with the lob threat between him and Ja Morant should be enough to inspire the club to take a chance on his contract for the next two seasons.
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