Well, it is time to preview your Western Conference champs. It seems like a lifetime since we had that great run and a lot has changed since then. Gone are veterans Mike Miller, Mike James, Ben Wallace, Tayshawn Prince and rookie Doron Lamb. In their place, Memphis managed to sign veterans Kirk Hinrich, Luke Ridnour, Thabo Sefolosha, Boris Diaw and Vince Carter. We also traded for Omer Asik to give us an extra defender and shot-blocker inside.
Key for us this offseason was to maintain balance. It is obvious that Mike Conley and Marc Gasol have proven to be able to carry us offensively. Both are efficient shooters and capable of stepping up when required. They are surrounded by veteran role players who know what to do in pretty much any situation. In fact, the Grizz look like the oldest team in the league with nobody being younger than 25 and half of the team being 30+ years old. With age comes experience with six players on the team with at least 10 years of experience.
PG – Mike Conley, Kirk Hinrich, Luke Ridnour, Nick Calathes
Conley will continue to rule the PG for Memphis. Last season, he showed that he is one of the elite point guards in CSL averaging 21.1 ppg and 7.7 apg. He played ferocious defence also with 2+spg and 98% STP%. Conley has 2 years remaining on his deal and is eligible to get an extension this season. Backing him up are two veterans in Hinrich and Ridnour. We reached out to both in the hopes of signing at least one of them. However, both decided to join us in the hopes of fighting for the CSL crown this year. It is yet unclear how their minutes are going to be structured. We’ll let them decide that. Rounding out the PG rotation is second year man Nick Calathes. He showed some minor improvement in training camp but with Hinrich and Ridnour already on board fighting for backup minutes, Calathes is likely to spend most of his time in D-League.
SG – Courtney Lee, Kevin Martin, Vince Carter, Thabo Sefolosha
Last season, Lee was the perfect sidekick to Mike Conley. Lee is happy to let Conley lead this team, he is not going to take any unnecessary shots and one of the few players that actually enjoys playing ferocious defence on opposing SGs. He has been a great starter last season and we are looking into resigning both Lee and Conley to long-term deals. Backing up Lee is Kevin Martin – the sharpshooting 6th man who provides an instant scoring punch off the bench. He has found his shot last year with the Grizz shooting 48% FG and 44% on threes. Newly acquired Vince Carter and Thabo Sefolosha are also options at SG but will spend most of their time at SF. If Martin is not able to find his shot, look for Hinrich to also play a few minutes at SG here and there.
SF – Thabo Sefolosha, Vince Carter, Quincy Pondexter
Mike Miller is gone. It’s a shame as we really wanted him to stick around. In his place, however, we find an upgrade with Thabo. He is a ferocious defender who can also shoot the three at an effective % - 37% last season. He gives us another intelligent role player who won’t take shots away from Conley and Gasol. Vince Carter will be Thabo’s primary backup. While not a particularly good defender, Carter can stay in front of his man and we are not asking for much more at this point. He can also shoot and, similar to Martin, can light up the box score quickly. At 37, he is the oldest player on the team so his minutes need to be controlled. We need his experience come playoff time. Quincy, our third SF, will be playing a bit of garbage minutes but not much more than that.
PF – Zach Randolph, Kosta Koufos, Boris Diaw, Omer Asik
Are Zach’s days in Memphis numbered? We played so well without him in the playoffs last year. He is still injured for the first three months of the season so Koufos is likely to sneak into the starting line up in his place. Koufos showed in the playoffs that he can hold his own against the West elite and deserves the extra PT. He will have to share it though, with veteran Boris Diaw who was not signed for his ability to ward the bench. He brings an entirely unique skillset – a PF that can handle the ball like a PG and shoot threes. Despite being a natural center, Asik will see time at PF as we want to experiment with having two exceptional rebounders and rim protectors on the floor.
C – Marc Gasol, Omer Asik, Kosta Koufos
Mark rules here. There is not much else to say. He played like a hungry beast in the playoffs last year and carried us offensively and defensively. He will be relied upon to do the same this year. Asik, will be his primary backup and it’s a luxury to have a player like that coming off the bench. Exceptional defender, shot blocker and rebounder he will fight for playing time at C and PF.
2028
