But mud got slung on the window this season - off the court issues for Ja Morant, and as Grizzlies General Manager Zach Kleiman put it “ self-inflicted distractions” that surely includes Dillon Brooks poking bears and at LeBron James’ age, were the most egregious problems for the franchise. And every year, the path to a championship seemed to become more and more clear. The team had been on an upward trajectory until this postseason. The Grizzlies didn’t just fall - they fell flat on their collective faces. The Sacramento Kings made a hell of a run at an all-time great in Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors dynasty he leads in their first postseason appearance in a decade and a half. But the Milwaukee Bucks have elite perspective from their star. That stings.Īnd it feels worse than it does perhaps in other places because of that demeanor that one made Memphis the young darlings of the NBA, but now has them down lower than they have been at any point of the Ja Morant Era. That still doesn’t change the immediate reality that is the Grizzlies being seen as a front-running, trash-talking, failure in the eyes of many. And once Bane signs his nine-figure extension likely north in terms of value of deals for Tyler Herro and Jordan Poole, they’ll be locked in to Memphis for the foreseeable future. And they can pair those picks with any number of mid-sized contracts and young players on rookie deals to try to make upgrades for a roster that, clearly, is in need of them.īut the core - Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Desmond Bane - is there. The front office has all their own first round picks, plus the 2024 1st (top-3 protected) of the Golden State Warriors, to send out in a trade. Their three core, All-Star or better caliber players are all below the age of 25, is set to be in Memphis for at least the next three years together. The Grizzlies franchise, after a blisteringly embarrassing 40-point defeat at the hands of the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 6 this past Friday, still has an objectively bright future. that plucky underdog story of exceptionalism and egocentric activity in their own right - move on and for the Grizzlies to receive a comeuppance they didn’t just deserve - but needed. But now it has gotten so bad for the Grizzlies that when given the choice by opposing fan bases between the Lakers and Memphis by the end of the series, it seemed on social media like the vast majority wanted to see L.A. Last year? Trash talking and high-energy play was all the rage as the Grizzlies surprised the NBA elite with their abrupt arrival on the scene. In just 365 days, the team has gone from media and NBA darlings viewed as full of swagger and fun to a group of pariahs not welcome in the league’s postseason proceedings. Who has spiraled more aggressively in the eyes of the national NBA landscape over the last calendar year than the Memphis Grizzlies?
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