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The Memphis Grizzlies had a solid 2020-21 NBA season compared to the team's recent seasons. The team, led by sophomore Ja Morant, reached the Play-In tournament and pulled off two victories to advance to the NBA Playoffs for the first time since 2017.
Though the Memphis Grizzlies fell in five games against the Utah Jazz in the first round, the team left us with a sensation that it is building a good system around the talented, young Morant.
The Taylor Jenkins-coached outfit was solid in the regular season, putting together a 38-34 record. They also ranked 15th in Offensive Rating and sixth in Defensive Rating in the entire league.
3 Players Memphis Grizzlies can trade in the 2021 NBA offseason to continue preparing for the future
The Grizzlies are already active in the 2021 NBA offseason, having traded Jonas Valanciunas to the New Orleans Pelicans for Steven Adams and Eric Bledsoe, along with the 10th and 40th picks of the 2021 NBA Draft. Ziaire Williams and Santi Aldama were selected via these picks.
The Memphis Grizzlies were expected to trade and go up in the NBA Draft to try and grab more talent to develop, but they stayed put with what they had.
In this article, we will take a look at three assets that the Memphis Grizzlies could use to improve their roster for the future.
Without further ado, let us start.
#3 Eric Bledsoe
Eric Bledsoe was recently traded to the Memphis Grizzlies from the New Orleans Pelicans. It is the second consecutive offseason in which Bledsoe finds himself involved in a trade, as he was sent from Milwaukee to New Orleans last year.
Even though he is truly a good player who can contribute to any team, Bledsoe might even be traded again. The Memphis Grizzlies are likely to continue thinking about the franchise's future with young talent and Bledsoe could be caught in the middle.
The 31-year-old guard still has a couple of years left on his current contract with a salary over $18 million for both years. Last season, Bledsoe put up 12.2 points, three rebounds and three assists per game with 42/34/68 shooting splits.
#2 Steven Adams
Similar to Bledsoe's case, Steven Adams is now with the Memphis Grizzlies after getting involved in the trade that sent Jonas Valanciunas to the New Orleans Pelicans.
While Valanciunas was the one who played better in the most recent NBA campaign, Adams also deserves some recognition for the role he can play for postseason teams.
If the Memphis Grizzlies keep Adams for the two years and over $34 million remaining in his current contract, he will certainly play a positive role for the squad. However, some other teams could be looking to add a big man to their rotation and Adams could land the Memphis Grizzlies even more draft assets in the coming years.
The 28-year-old averaged 7.6 points and 8.9 rebounds per game last year for the Pelicans and made 61.4% of his field goals while averaging 27 minutes played per game.
#1 Kyle Anderson
The Memphis Grizzlies had some important decisions to make in the 2021 NBA offseason, as some contracts were entering their final year. Jonas Valanciunas fell under the category of a veteran with an expiring contract who could be traded and he was indeed traded. Kyle Anderson is also in a similar situation.
Like Valanciunas, Anderson's contract will expire at the end of the 2021-22 NBA season. Anderson also had one of his best years, if not the best, in the 2020-21 campaign for the Memphis Grizzlies.
Anderson averaged double digits for the first time in his career during the 2020-21 NBA season, putting up 12.4 points per game. He made 46.8% of his field goals during the regular season while shooting 36% from three (on 3.8 attempts per game) and 78% from the free-throw line.
Anderson is a well-established player who's been in the NBA since 2014. At age 27 and coming off his best year in the league, he would definitely draw lots of attention from other teams in the league. A trade could net the Memphis Grizzlies assets and improve their roster for the future around Ja Morant and Dillon Brooks.
Also read: NBA Rumors: 3 bold predictions for Memphis Grizzlies' 2021 NBA off-season
Guess the Lakers players!
