2023 NBA Draft Team Recap: Memphis Grizzlies
Ja Morant suspended for the first 25 games of the season.
Dillon Jones out, Marcus Smart in.
Tyus Jones out, Derrick Rose in.
Desmond Bane locked up long term to a five-year, more than $200 million extension.
It turned out to be a very eventful offseason - some of it positive but also plenty that is at least uncertain - for what has seemingly been one of the more stable organizations over the past few seasons.
That theme of uncertainty was also felt during the 2023 NBA Draft.
While selecting a raw talent like G.G. Jackson with the No. 45 overall pick provides plenty of the upside for a mid second round pick, there are questions around the player. Initially, Jackson was committed to the University of North Carolina before re-classifying and playing for the University of South Carolina.
This decision could have potentially cost Jackson a lot of guaranteed money as a player who was once considered the top prospect in the 2023 recruiting class - and a lottery pick in the 2024 draft - saw his draft stock fall throughout his freshman year and the pre-draft process.
The 6-foot-9 forward has plenty of talent, that has never been the question, but being able to fully actualize that talent and put it on display has been an issue. He was giving the keys to the car for the Gamecocks which resulted in some solid box score numbers, 15 points and six rebounds per game, but not efficiency.
In his 32 games he shot below 40% from the field, below 33% from the 3-point line and below 68% from the free throw line. There were also some other questions around an Instagram post after a game and how seriously he took the overall pre-draft process.
The eight games he played in this summer seemed to follow the same pattern. Jackson had some decent overall averages but did so on 37-33-73 shooting splits.
It should be noted that the three games in Salt Lake showed a lot of promise in this regard before the five games in Las Vegas significantly dropped those numbers.
Again, there is no denying that this young man is talented - and still just 18-years-old - but considering the depth and competition at his position and the aforementioned areas for growth this might be a perfect situation for Jackson to spend the majority of his rookie year with the Memphis Hustle.
GM Zach Kleiman then made perhaps the most surprising selection of the night when he took the 22-year-old Tarik Biberovic with the No. 56 overall selection.
You would have been hard pressed to find Biberovic on any NBA Draft Big Boards leading up to the draft and this selection left even the best analysts scrambling amongst their notes.
It would seem that Biberovic is destined to be a draft-and-stash considering the Grizzlies are already over their 15 allotted rostered players, have two two-way players and have yet to officially ink Jackson to any deal.
Want to join the discussion? Like Draft Digest on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest NBA Draft news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.