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It’s only a rumor but apparently it is some future, heavily protected first

It's a bit premature but I suddenly got curious what this team will look like at the start of the next season. So many different scenarios are possible. Mike Conley is the biggest question mark of course but will Jonas Valanciunas return? Will Delon Wright? Will Justin Holiday? All of these players were playing significant minutes in March and April after all. It would be a tremendous amount of turnover if none of them returned. With less than 48 hours remaining before the draft and likely Mike Conley trade (I still believe he gets traded around the draft) what is everyone else thinking this team's most likely 15 man roster will be? Here is my best guess: PG: Ja Morant, Delon Wright, Jevon Carter SG: Dillon Brooks, Draft pick/Player acquired in Conley trade, CJ MIles, SF: Kyle Anderson, Bruno Caboclo, Player/Draft pick acquired in Conley Trade PF: Jaren Jackson, Chandler Parsons, Yuta Watanabe C : Jonas Valanciunas, Ivan Rabb, Tyler Zeller I don't object to the starting five but it gets pretty hairy once the team goes to the bench. That also means that Joakim Noah, Tyler Dorsey, Julian Washburn and Justin Holiday won't be returning. If the Grizzlies get another big in the Conley trade then I could see Holiday coming back instead of Zeller.

Rumor is Miami is offering Hassan Whiteside for Chandler Parsons. I don’t know how real this is but it is interesting. The trade would help get Miami under the luxury cap.

No. We are the message board.

Using your logic they should start Korver too in an attempt to drive up his trade value. both of those reasons are not what I hope the team is thinking this season. Korver and Crowder are expiring contracts that will create cap flexibility moving forward. In my humble opinion the team should focus on the future and play the guys they plan on having around this season after this. That for me means Kyle (a better player anyway), Bruno, Dillon & Grayson. I expect Korver will retire or accept a low dollar buyout personally. I’ll be more surprised if he is on the opening night roster than if Parsons is here and I don’t expect Parsons back.

Plus his contract is expiring.

I can agree with that. Crowder isn't part of the long term future of the franchise. He was salary that Utah gladly gave up to acquire Mike Conley. I don't know if it will eventually reach the level of the Pau for Marc Gasol trade but it is looking solid so far.

I can agree with that. Unless the team trades Jae's expiring contract for future assets of course.

Most rookies take three NBA seasons to fully develop. Too many fans and teams give up too early on rookies.

Their moves have really perplexed a lot of people this summer. I guess that means we agree on this. That isn't good.

I'm not ignoring anything. I am disagreeing with you. I believe Kyle is the better fit and the better player. Jonas being resigned is not specifically to compliment Jaren's weaknesses as much as the team's weakness in interior defense, rebounding and interior scoring. I also don't know how much Ja will be dominating the ball. He will be the leader of the offense but I believe that Coach Jenkins offense will be based on ball movement, rotations and getting open looks. That's how things were run in Atlanta and Milwaukee. Kyle is a far better player in those regards. Crowder isn't exactly known as a player who moves the ball around a lot. He took on average 16 shots over 27 MPG. He averaged less than 2 assists. His Win Score over at Box Score Geeks says Crowder was incredibly inefficient (WP -0.21) on offense which isn't going to sit well with Jenkins in my opinion. It's just my opinion of course and time will tell but the Crowder we've seen lately isn't suited for the style of play that Jenkins has coached in. Interestingly Grayson Allen had the lowest WP48 on the Jazz roster last season at -1.61. I wonder if our front office understands statistics at all at times. Their acquisitions sure don't appear to be tracking advanced stats very closely. Final thought. Kyle Anderson led the Grizzlies last season in WP48 which tells me he was doing a lot right despite a bum shoulder. He'll never be a big point guy or take a ton of bad shots but he moves the ball, places excellent defense, rebounds well and makes the shots he takes.

LIkewise giving up tons of easy baskets and not making the right passes or grabbing rebounds makes winning difficult. I understand that the more 3 point shooters on the court the more the court will be spread out. However if teams don't care if someone is taking a three because they make such a low percentage it isn't a good thing. Crowder is not an efficient three point shooter.

Believe me the Front Office knows a lot more than we do on the board.

Now that's a relative comparison. I didn't look to see the number of threes each put up. I probably should have. If Crowder put up 173 off the bench in Utah (and I am not challenging your numbers) imagine how many he'd put up starting in Memphis. Is anyone else worried that type of shot load with such a poor percentage of makes means fewer attempts for JJJ, Ja, Dillon and JV? Crowder loves to throw up three point attempts but he's only reached the league average in 3pt% once in his career. So Crowder isn't as good defensively, isn't as good rebounding and isn't as good a play-maker but he take's a lot three point shots that he doesn't make. Why exactly do people believe he should start ahead of Kyle. For that matter, should he play ahead of Bruno or CJ at the three? Crowder has been a small ball PF most of his career. If Parsons is not going to be on the team this coming season I could see Crowder and Clarke battling for minutes as the back up PF more than I can see Kyle being moved to PF.

Nothing earth shattering there. They have made it clear that was their intention all along.

This is from the NBA's CBA 101 document. In effect the Grizzlies will be relinquishing the contract in agreement with the player. As I understand it, Bradley will be put on waivers if his option is not picked up and the rules apply as stated above. The Grizzlies will only be responsible for the amount of money guaranteed in the contract in that case.

Finally you come on board with the JJJ being a four not a five.

How do you define capable? Kyle shot at a higher percentage last season and for his career. I am assuming Kyle is healthy in my predictions as I have repeatedly said "if healthy" when discussing Kyle. I am not making any predictions. I am simply saying that I believe Kyle Anderson "if healthy" is a better SF than Jae Crowder, that "if healthy" Kyle Anderson is a better shooter (not scorer per se), and that Kyle's overall game is better than Jae Crowder. I don't care what position Kyle played in college. Many players change positions between college and the pros. Kyle played in college five years ago. It isn't relevant today. As the article you linked says Kyle was only given point forward duties in San Antonio after a rash of injuries left them with only Patty Mills as a true PG. That doesn't mean San Antonio planned and desired to use Kyle in this manner and the fact that they didn't match the offer from the Grizzlies three months after this was written suggests the Spurs didn't see that as his future with the team either.

Jae Crowder is a much worse shooter than Kyle over his career. It's just a statistical fact. If the Grizzlies have players spreading the floor at the three of the four positions the court will be spread. Teams will dare Crowder to shoot as well and he could but just at a worse percentage than Kyle. Last season Jae shot 39% from the field and 33% from the arc. The fact is Jae is not the player a healthy Kyle Anderson is. He isn't a better rebounder. He isn't a better shooter. He isn't a better play-maker and he isn't a better defender.

Kyle is not a high volume scorer but with his shoulder being fixed he is a capable shooter. Kyle's career averages are 49.2% from the field and 32.4% from the arc. It was just the last two seasons when Kyle's shoulder started bothering him that he really fell apart as a shooter. Jae Crowder is 28 (older than JV who is supposed to be too old for the Grizzlies according to some posters), on a one year contract, hasn't started but 11 games in the last two seasons and a below average shooter from the field (42.3%) and the arc (33.9%). Is 1.5% from the arc really that important?

Being used as a play-maker and wanting PG responsibilities and duties aren't the same thing. This still doesn't explain why you believe a player who was signed last season to be the starting SF and who wants PG duties and responsibilities would suddenly become the 3rd string PF. Especially if he was making it so apparent and public that he wants PG duties and responsibilities or at least to be more of a play-maker.

I meant PG. My typo error. I still haven't heard Kyle ever suggest "he wanted alot more PG type of responsibility" or seen an interview where he said he was "more comfortable handling the ball and point guard duties." Can you find any article, interview or anything to support your view on this?

If healthy I fully expect Kyle to start at SF to begin the season. Projecting him as the 3rd string PF is just silly. I also don't remember Kyle ever stating he wanted more PF responsibility. Can you provide me a link so I can get up to speed on that?