The NBA is finally starting to respect the Grizzlies...

The NBA is finally starting to respect the Grizzlies now, of course, they still have a long way to go But this is a decent start and something that we've already known for quite some time But actually this is one article from one NBA writer Who highlights the Grizzlies? Unhidden gems sometimes he's been critiqued sometimes he's been Thrown off to the curb or the whole Desmond Bayne deal John Moran during Jackson Dylan Brooks all that, but however He's gotten to be one of the more sneakier guys In the front office in the NBA What's going on everybody Jared Alatorre for another episode of Grizzlies Digest. Thank you so much for tuning in you can like comment subscribe to the Channel here Grizzlies Digest. I mean we've been here for Over a year now I want to say a year and a half and I know it's a dead period right now But hey, we got content for you. We're keeping it going and we're gonna get started for you right now. So this was one article That I want to share with you very interesting by Sam Quinn of CBS Sports NBA front office rankings part one Nick's soar over Celtics after winning title. So of course Thunder on here the Knicks The Celtics Spurs are in that top four but something that Grizzlies fans may not expect now again, they have criticized that climate some rightfully so very warranted very justified Criticism for Zach climate, however Sam Quinn had ranked him at Number seven So again, this is front office ranking the Grizzlies at number seven February ranking was 11 and now they're at seven So that climate is perhaps the NBA's best drafter not named Sam Preston Desmond Bain and Samteel Dhamma at number 30 GG Jackson at 45 Jim Wells at 39 camp Spencer at 53 Cedric Howard at number 11 all represent significant wins relative to their slots. There's only Notable miss was trading up for Zyder Williams Only to watch Trey Murphy land in his original slot Scotty Pippen jr. Jay Huff both developed into real NBA players as a Memphis two-way signings Ability to identify and develop young talent is a single most important trade a small market office front office can have And the Grizzlies have it in spades So again, these are great examples That we've gotten to know in the past Of course Samteel Dhamma Desmond Bain Jay Huff not there anymore, but Scotty Pippen jr. Cam Spencer Cedric Howard Very much here for the Grizzlies future But this is a testament to how a small market team should operate now. They're not going to get all of the the big Free agent signings and this is not to say that The things that LeBron James has said in the past is correct. I know he's He has put a spell against the city of Memphis for some comments he made while he was playing golf a few months back I'm not even talking about that per se but Even if he was right in those ridiculous comments, he made Memphis is still a small market team It's the only professional team that the city has don't have a hockey team They don't have a football team. I mean, there's Nashville, Tennessee with the Tennessee Titans No, it won't be baseball team. I don't know some folks in Memphis. I'm not sure. Maybe they root for the Braves. Maybe the Cardinals I'm not sure but that's kind of like at a mix at that point, but You look at the Grizzlies right now and They they need something. They need some kind of spark to operate because they're not gonna get the big free agent guys I think Derek Rose was kind of an exception just because he was on his last legs but even someone like I'm not sure. Amen Thompson or Austin Reeves or Someone like that that's gonna become a free agent in the near future I mean, they're probably not looking at the Memphis Grizzlies as a realistic option But maybe because they're building such a young core and that's what they're supposed to do as a small market team But maybe they can actually get some big free agent guys in the near future Like who knows? I mean you're doing everything right right now Why not translate that into something more and be an attractive organization that people want to go to? So this is more of what Quinn had to say They're also appropriately Unsentimental. The moment they realized the Bain-Jern-Jackson Jr. John Morant core was not capable of seriously contending They broke it up and got a premium for two of them They didn't get greedy with Morant either unless their front offices would have pretended the situation was salvageable in the hopes of eventually getting positive value. The Grizzlies prioritized their culture enough to understand that just getting Morant out of the building was enough. Morant publicly challenged the coach in the front office was secure enough to stand alongside That first-year coach Tumas Cicillo rather than the beloved homegrown star. That's strong organizational alignment. Now Quinn is not saying in no way is he saying that Zach Kleiman should always side with Tumas Cicillo in this situation because I mean, let's be honest John Morant's not playing basketball. I mean you got a home for him now Got a home in the Portland Trailblazers who have a log jam guard problem of their own I'm very interested to see how that works out But then the Grizzlies now have a lot of ball handlers and some pretty amazing playmakers From the three to the five and then they tied Jerome, Scottie Pippen Jr., Cedric Coward He's proved himself. Cam Spencer, Jalen Wells has proved himself. I mean you've got a You've got something to build off of here and that you they had to get rid of Desmond Bain and the Jaron Jackson juniors and the John Morant's to do that, but It looks like it's gonna eventually work out in the future here. Now. I know that for the fans They're like well, we're maybe the organization isn't Emotional about it. But I mean the fan base is emotional. I mean John Morant was That was their brainchild. I was their baby right there, right? But If he's not playing on the court, if he's not playing basketball, I mean What are we protecting? What are we doing here? I mean, but we're protecting the guy. We're protecting his reputation We're protecting his legacy. You know, he went through plenty of controversies whenever he was here in Memphis and it seemed like the fan base Hey look they had his back and I mean, I've had his back at some points here too whenever things have happened, but whenever you're not playing basketball, that's Pretty much a death sentence in the NBA today More of what Sam Quinn talks about and then we'll go into the criteria of what of how this was voted Specifically for Memphis, but there's also the question of track record. Look at the first six teams we covered We didn't say that I said at the beginning of the video. I think the top four were Oklahoma City, New York Boston and San Antonio Not sure what five and six were but the last three NBA champions, okay, so we're looking at the Knicks We're looking at the Thunder. We're looking at the Celtics. So hey, there you go the last two runners up in the finals and The former NBA championship GM who laid the foundation for Boston's 2024 title So the last two runner-ups in San Antonio, that was Indiana Dallas Well, yeah, well San Antonio and Indiana were the last two runners up in the final So former championship GM who laid the foundation for Boston's 2024 title the Grizzlies have Have not advanced beyond the second round under Kleiman and their win now moves notably the market smart trade weren't as successful as their Rebuilding maneuvers still that's a small track record and many of Kleiman's more ambitious star pursuits were ruined by the market The Grizzlies playing that's what makes our draft surplus so tantalized the Grizzlies have the picks now to Build an organic juggernaut. Yeah, I mean a young juggernaut That's gonna stick around for a long time And that's exactly what Zach Klein was trying to build the whole time while trying to Work With Desmond Bain to move him work with German Jackson to move him work with John Moran and you don't get the best they can Hey, they got Jeremy Grant for John Moran, I mean, that's We all knew that was not going to be the best deal because NBA GM saw Moran's value is extremely low Especially lower than what it was three years ago, but You knew you had to get something and you knew you had to move so it was kind of Catch 22 if you're Zach Kleiman in that scenario So this is the criteria of what they have voted for will actually go full screen on this so we can actually see Having a coherent plan. It's one thing to accidentally land on a handful of good players It's another to operate with an Identifiable and logically consistent plan in which moves work together in sequence toward the eventual goal of winning an NBA championship So obviously those are a lot of words that it's gonna take a long time to do that, but there's a plan here Has to start with all the new guys Start with Cedric Howard and Boozer Zack Eadie and all the new guys It'll come through Also, you've got Isaiah Stewart that may be the best enforcer in the league. Who's gonna be like, hey just get behind me And everybody else who gets involved in disagreements and confrontations, I mean Stu is gonna have their back and They're all gonna have stews back. That's how you build a real team Creativity a great front office tries things that are unexpected and attempts to get ahead of trends rather than responding to them So something unexpected. I guess you could say maybe getting someone like I'd say you could probably I mean how How have they done with unexpected things, I mean, I don't know I'd say unexpected would be getting someone like Ty Jerome who was in the Prime of his career and doing fine Playing the best of his career and then coming to Memphis I mean usually you don't see that kind of momentum as a free agent and then go to Memphis So, you know, so I had great momentum back in the 24 or 25 season But obviously didn't do a whole lot Last year because he was so injured But I'd say taking a move like that whenever you see a player that's hot and then going for him and then getting him I'd say that's some creativity right there. Let's go to being self-aware great front office understands where the team sits Learn to make hard unpopular decisions. Yeah, that was John Moran getting rid of him Organization fully aligned a clear and defined hierarchy in which everyone knows who's making decisions That still needs to be kind of Developed I'd say if that makes sense, the owner is willing to spend money I'd say that's probably not what's going on. But saying but we're saying that look who's gonna be deserved Who's going to be most deserving to get the most money wool? They're gonna earn it. I mean if Zack Edie's playing his butt off the next Two to three years. Hey, let's give him a big contract Cedric Howard do the same thing cam boozer Get off that rookie contract in four years and we're gonna give you a big one So those are a few examples, but I think the Grizzlies kind of check if most if not all the boxes there But that's kind of a creative thing Zack Kleiman and Memphis Grizzlies. Hey, they're in the top 10 of NBA GM's and front offices So hey, they're doing the right thing and they're on the right track. So that's gonna do it for this video I appreciate you watching with a little overtime, but that's okay to apologize for that. But we'll see in the next video Thanks for watching