What is Krack Black hundred year a efforts. I am Dan Valley coming at
you with a solo mini emergency episode segment because Ja Morant is going to be
out for this season. He's having surgery on a torn labram in his right
shoulder. Just a bummer here and changes so much obviously for the Memphis Grizzlies,
but about the landscape I think in the Western Conference very quickly. Jeff
Stotts Intry Clothes on Twitter says that in Rant the recovery period is normally one
hundred and fifty six days. That's a long time, that's about five months
following surgery, but it comes with a very high success rate. He notes.
Other players to undergo labrom surgery include Jalen Brunson, Pastika, and Paul
George. I believe Paul George has had some subsequent issues with that shoulder,
if I'm not mistaken, but he's still an All NBA caliber player as his
past Colciakam. And we're seeing what Jalen Brunton can do right now. And
so next season, John Moran should be fine and the Grizzly should be fine.
They still have doesn't be and they still Jaron Jackson junior. Steven Adams
will be healthy at that point. Anyway, they were already a little bit
in lurch because of how much ground they lost without Morant. They now seed
all that back. They had the worst offense in the league without him.
They didn't generate a ton of rim pressure. They weren't making a ton of
threes. Not that he improves your three point shooting, but that creativity is
big. There's no one on this team that is like, has unassisted an
unassisted three point attempt to rate of just like above fifty. So everyone on
this team most of their three pointers are coming off asis. Having John Moran
as a creator to put pressure on defenses is huge, in large part because
you also do not have the offensive rebounding element that you would have if both
Brandon Clark and more so Steven Adams were healthy. You look at this,
I think there's been the reactions to this, or the two things that bothered
me. He's one calling it a blessing in disguise because this is gonna drum
up the value of Memphis' first round pick this year. Okay, fine,
the Grizzlies have not drafted that well since the Desmond Bain picked. They have
some interesting guys on here, but they bet big on their internal development and
that has kind of flopped since then, and they held on to some of
their assets too. On before the Marcus Smart trade, there was also sort
of this I almost say glaring indifference. But people just not that they've written
off John Moran or they're rooting for an injury, but just everything down to
the finger gun celebration once he returned from his suspension earlier this year. I
have been very critical of John rant on a bunch of things, as has
Grant on this podcast. This is still a twenty four year old kid,
and we should all be rooting for redemption and we should never be. I
don't even want to say no one was rooting for the injury, but we
shouldn't have just written him off for v This is something indifferent that it doesn't
change a lot about what the Grizzlies are going to do, because it changes
everything about what they can and should what they will do. They look like
they could be They probably wouldn't have done anything major, but they could have
if he was going to be healthy. They still have their first round picks,
They still have some salary matching tools. And they were four They are
four games out in the lost column of the play in right now. That's
a tall order when most of the teams in front of them are all going
to try and make the playoffs. There's a chance Utah pulls back. They're
playing out a h hallacious stretch right now that takes them through February. They
can also be sneaky buyers though, and so they were no guarantees, and
if you're Memphis, this completely flips that on its head. And I don't
think do we see them tank? Maybe what this really does that's damaging though,
Is it really erases any type of information they could have had on Okay,
well, how does job work with Marcus Smart and Desmond Maine and Jaron
Jackson junior together? There's virtually no sample there for that. This season on
the year, those four have played two hundred and thirty eight possessions together.
The Grizzlies are a plus four during that plus four points per one hundred persessions.
That's solid, but the offense has been in the ninth percentile. They're
doing a lot of their damage on the defensive end, and the half court
offense still wasn't very good. There were things they needed to figure out.
And I don't think you can look at this team and think that they are
built to navigate the rest of the season without John Rant. Particularly on the
offensive end. I look at Marcus Smart specifically, has been mostly a train
wreck. There. He is shooting above fifty five percent on his drives.
He also has more turnovers than assists on those drives. Some of that could
just be his teammates not making shots, and it is to some extent,
but he has never been that traditional floor general. He has always needed another
creator or two around him to be optimized. John Morant might have given you
that because you also have Desmond Bane. And you just look at when Marcus
Smart is running pick and r this year been an absolute disaster. He's scoring
point six, He's averaging point six to nine points per possession as the pick
and roll ball handler. That is an egregiously bad mark. There have been
eighty nine players that have run at least seventy five picking rolls this year.
Marcus Smart ranks has There's actually only one player that's averaging fewer points per possession
in picking roles than Marcus Smart, and it's Drew Holliday. That's a I'm
not sure I saw that one coming. And he's turning the ball over on
twenty seven point seven percent of his pick and rolls. That is dead last
by a mile among everyone who has run at least seventy five of those.
You have Marcus Smart twenty seven point seven percent turnover eight there eighty nine out
of eighty nine players. And then Josh Giddy checks in at eighty eighth at
twenty two point three percent. And so like, the distance between Marcus Smart
and Giddy is basically the distance between Giddy and like maybe the bottom you know,
someone who ranks in the sixties. If that that's a problem that's not
going to go away. And so I look at this team, and yes,
because you are Memphis, because you're still playing the long game. If
there's a player out there on the trade market that you deem can be a
part of your long term picture, still go out and get them because that
you can protect this year's pick. Or maybe other teams are just more inclined
to value your pick because of what just happened with Rant. Go out and
get them to set yourself up for the longer term. But don't throw good
money after bad and try and acquire someone who is going to get you into
the plane or the playoffs, because you're not getting the playoffs at this point.
Just the sheer difference and the teams in front of you to get to
that sixth spot. You are right now as I record this, eight losses
back, and it's just look at the teams in front of you. Even
if you don't believe in Houston, even if you don't believe in New Orleans,
even if you don't believe in the Lakers, the Suns, the Warriors,
either one of those teams could get hot. The Jazz have been quietly
playing really well, but you're not going to reach the playoffs anyway, and
so I do think this takes them out if they had been tangentially linked to
a Pascal Siakam, and if you were really let's say you really believe in
getting Pascal Siakam, okay, go out and do it, because then he
if you resign him, he comes back. You can see what he's like
with Jaw. But not having Jaw, I think or really eliminates that possibility
of going out and getting someone that they view as a high impact player right
away, because you would want to see that fit together before you have to
pay someone like Sakam. There could be other names available, but the goal
should not be well, do we all of a sudden look at de Jentay
Murray because he's been a bear on offense this year, and maybe that can
help us get to the plane. That's not the goal anymore. This needs
to be about subsequent seasons and setting yourself up to make another big move,
the big move that you really haven't even I say, another big move that
you still haven't made. The Marcus mart consolidation trade is not panned out like
it should have. You waited too long to make that type of trade if
you're the Grizzlies. So now if I'm Memphis, I'm looking at again,
if the right player became available, if you can get your hands on Michel
Bridges, for example, you can't just choosing as an example. Yeah,
you go out and do it because that sets you up for the future.
At this rate, it's not about you could keep this core intact. You
could play everybody and you're still gonna lose enough games to You're not going to
be on the level of the Blazers or the Spurs most likely, but lose
enough game to have like top five seven lottery odds and maybe you'll get maybe
you'll get lucky there, and then that's a pick that you can then move,
and that you should move that pick because you have John Desmond Bane and
Sharon Jackson Junior right now. But I think you should be doing in the
intern And what you need to do in the interm is what is the market
for Marcus Smart Because I don't you can't say this experiment that the ship has
sailed on it. You don't have enough information at full strength, but it's
been underwhelming enough to where you look at the two years and forty one plus
million left on his deal, he could still be very valuable to certain contenders.
I look at what Dallas want to take a shot at him. Someone
suggested the Knicks. I think they need more shot creation if they're going to
go that route. The Lakers could be a team that might want to get
involved that you're willing to take back. Look, you can kind of both
sides of defense. If you're willing to take back de Lo in that deal
and they're gonna give you their distant first round pick, you have that extra
shot creator in d Lo. I don't think he leads you to the play
in and he could pick up his player option for next year, But then
that's still sort of a human trade exception type situation. If he does exercise
that option, and I think that you could get, you're not going to
get nearly as much as you gave up for Marcus mart I don't think.
But there are teams that I do believe would give up a first round pick
and maybe more four Marcus Smart. I don't know if that team would be
the Lakers specifically, because they're only going to be able to give you twenty
twenty nine or two thousand and thirty. If that's on the table, you
should absolutely be doing it. But there are just other teams that could come
in here. I saw someone had mentioned to me Philly that would just be
it would eat into their cap space. But man, if they're really all
about this year, Philly would make some sense. They have all those expiring
contracts and some picks. That might be a team where you could watch and
see them really doing something there. Brooklyn probably needs more of a floor general
type, even though their defense has been a little bit wonky this year,
doesn't like do you just like a Marcus Mart Jeantay Murray challenge trade. I
still think that if you're the Grizzlies, you end up having to give up
someone as part of that deal. But if you're willing to take back Clint
Capella's money, maybe send out some of your other bigs. That's something you
could look at. I wouldn't love that one for Memphis though, quite frankly,
you could also look at something like again, if you're trying to strad
out two lines, would Charlotte be interested in having Marcus mart as a culture
setter and defender moving forward over Terry Rozier, who's just been playing like Gangbusters
lately. I mean, I really don't know. Other teams. I don't
think this is okay, see that they're not really good team, even though
he would be I think even in the playoffs and upgrade over Giddy. But
the other thing here is Marcus mart is shooting thirty three point three percent on
catch and shoot threes. Other teams know this as well. But if you're
like you're really going after trying to make up maybe Houston they believe with him
and Fred van Fleet, and you're going to lighten his creation duties because of
Shane Gun, they could really use another creator in there, so there will
be teams that I think can give up a first round pick for him.
And then you also have Lukenard, who has a team option for next season.
You should look at moving his contract. When he's been healthy. He
has these knee problems he has for years. He's going to be someone who
could make shots for you and you need that element. But I think at
this point it needs to be about aiming bigger. And that's you can call
it tanking. If you want a tank, and you'll really right now your
two losses in front of the Blazers and you want to You're not going to
catch up to the Pistons or the Wizards or the Spurs. But if you
want bottom four lottery odds and you want to go after the Hornets who are
have three more losses than you, and Portland has two more losses than you,
by all means, you can do that. But it needs to be
more about setting yourself up to make the move that you still have not made
and what Marcus Smart did not do for you. And that's why I'm looking
at moving him, looking at moving Lukenard Brandon Clark if the team wants to
trade for him, as you know, some sort of salary matching that should
be on the table, and it's about getting picks back, maybe some young
players back. I don't know necessarily what young players are going to be on
the table. And a Marcus Marter lukenar deal. I think you're more looking
at these protected first round picks. And if what again, if it's a
team that the Clippers, Marcus mart could make some sense there. I don't
know if they'd be willing to. They have PJ. Tucker, they have
Terrence Mann. I'm not giving up Man, just giving his chemistry with his
fit with the Stars, I would say, and his chemistry even with Zobots.
I can't get to that point. But they could step Lauder their way
there. They have a mere coffee on top of PJ. Tucker and that
like right there getting kind of close, so you could step out of your
way there. If you're getting a distant first round pick from the Clippers from
the Lakers, then yeah, you absolutely do it. And you can roll
that into another trade for when the right player becomes available over the offseason,
because there will be player a player or players who just fit that you need
that will become available. And I think you know, over the next couple
of months or even leading into the offseason. I do think someone like a
Lowry market In or a Michal Bridges would become available. And if you can
arm yourself to make an aggressive play for that player who's a better fit and
who really nudges the direction of your team towards that championship ceiling, you need
to load up for that, because I don't think you have it in place
right now. Even again, though we haven't seen the full strength Grizzlies a
ton. This changes everything about what the season could have been, though,
because as we've said on this podcast, what they could have done is even
if they were looking at this is well, we'll make the play in,
we might get bounced before we get to the first round, or we won't
even win a playoff series because you had John Moran though anything was on the
table not to make this all in move for this season. If it well,
let's say you could have gotten Lebry Market and you can't. They just
I don't be asking price in Utah and then based off Memphis assets. But
if you had gotten and went after a Siakam, if someone else had become
available, that you wanted to look at because you have John Moran, and
you could have gauged the fit of whoever you're acquiring with Jaw, with Jaron
Jackson Junior, with Desmond Vane all that once that matters then for your bigger
picture, and now that you can't do that, I don't think you should
be buyers if you even want to go after kind of this lower level LEL
lower level, cheaper big if Andre Drummer can be had and it's not gonna
cost you a young player, or it's not gonna cost you more than some
seconds, yeah, sure go that round. If you can get Daniel Gafford
for salary matching in some seconds and you just want to try and tread water
without Moran, fine that the Heart and Sulvir organization has done for this season.
It should be more about trying to set yourself up to make a huge
swing once he is healthy and over the offseason and you have enough room under
the luxury tax, like eleven plus million under the tax. You have some
players that I think teams would want, even if you're looking at trying to
move santi Al Damo or Xavier Tillman before you have to pay him this season.
Those are not guys that are gonna yield first round picks, but they
could be nice sweeteners in let's say, a smart trade is not gonna just
drum up your return or loosen the protections on the pick that you're or picks
that you're going to get, or the quality of youngsters you're going to get.
That's what the Grizzlies need to do right now. It's not about tanking,
it's about looking at all their options. When it comes to everyone on
their roster not named John Morant or Desmond Bayner, Jared Jackson Junior, I
would say John Moran is truly the only untouchable player here, because we have
to redefine what untouchability means in the league. There are only a handful of
players who are truly untouchable. But you need to set yourself up to go
out in the offseason and make the bigger trade that you never made when you
should have in seasons pass that you tried to make this past summer, and
it was kind of a half measure somewhere in between. And I do think
that you have the players other teams would be interested in. Lukenard Obama,
Marcus Martz specifically that could get you there, And look, you shouldn't be
opposed to just because you have Marcus mart of the books for two more years
and some flexibility. If it's getting some bad money back where maybe it's bad
money for this season and next season, that shouldn't be outside like you shouldn't
see that, it's outside the realm of possibility because if they're gonna be expiring
next year but it's not a good contract, that becomes the human trade exception.
Though, if they're coming off the b or even if they have two
years left and I'm not saying Marcus Mart's on this terrible deal, I'm choosing
it as an example of if the player you're acquiring has, including this season,
three years left on their deal, all of a sudden, that's two
years over the offseason and they become more valuable as a salary matcher, and
so that's gonna drum up your level of return because there are teams concerned about
the tax right now. You know, maybe if the Clippers are looking to
get off PJ. Tucker because they don't want his player option on the books
for next year and they're willing to compensate you for that, that is something
that you could look at theoretically doing and maybe PJ. Tucker, you know,
he's not giving out that money in the player options, so you're not
getting to a buyout. But you sort of get the point there. You
can look at those avenues as well, because you can turn around and flip
those salaries over the summer, because it doesn't matter that they're on your books
right now, your room under the luxury tax and you're not going to be
good anyway, and you've probably drove up the return that you were getting in
whatever trade you are making. That's what I think they should do. Whether
they will do it, we'll have to wait and see. Hopefully John Morant
makes a full recovery. He will high surgery success rate. This team is
still going to be fun and it's still a team to keep an eye on
the in the years to come. If you've not done so already, please
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and as always, if you hope the shout out to one. He
only the indelible, the legendary, the also injured, but he will be
back with a Vengers next season, Frank marking him