The worst possible outcome for the Memphis Grizzlies on draft night

It's fun to hope. Life in lots of ways needs the floating, breezy way of looking on the bright side. The Memphis Grizzlies and their fans in particular deserve such lofty aspirations after the season they endured this past campaign. So the highs of best case scenario thinking, understandably, were appreciated.

But for every up, there is a down. Such is life. And as cool as three NBA Draft Lottery level talents and clean salary cap space would be, there of course is the other side of the coin.

So what would the worst case scenario of a NBA Draft night look like for the Memphis Grizzlies?

First, Memphis trades back from #3

Notice how this isn't "the Grizzlies take Caleb Wilson over Cameron Boozer". While consensus is growing that Boozer is the better prospect, it is unlikely anyone would lose sleep over a Wilson over Boozer choice. Wilson projects to be a great NBA player - there are just more questions on key skills offensively (such as three point shooting) with Caleb than there are Cam.

The only way Memphis can mess this up is if they choose to vacate their seat at the table. And there have been reports of teams that want their spot - the Oklahoma City Thunder, for example. But for the purpose of this exercise, we will exclude OKC from the theoretical deal. Even in a nightmare scenario, we won't help the Thunder get scarier.

Instead, Memphis chooses to stay close to the top-4 while picking up two future unprotected firsts from...the Brooklyn Nets.

The Nets pay the price of their 2030 and 2032 1st round picks (unprotected), plus #6 in this draft, for #3 and Memphis' 2032 2nd round pick. That sounds expensive, right? Two unprotected future firsts in exchange for moving up three spots for Cameron Boozer? Big win for the Grizzlies, yes?

Well...no.

What was the point of the tank? The losing, the miserable basketball experience. All to miss out on the fruits of that labor to kick the can down the proverbial road to drafts years from now? It would be a tough sell to the fan base, and a tougher sell to the coaches and players that just endured the organizational tank job.

So the future was chosen of there here and now. #6 is still on the board - good news, right! Maybe a star guard is coming to Memphis to replace Ja Morant...right?

Actually...

The Memphis Grizzlies select Nate Ament #6 overall

This isn't meant to slight Ament. The former Tennessee Volunteer has a frame the NBA adores from perimeter players. His presence would allow for Cedric Coward to be the starting 2 guard moving forward, and if Santi Aldama becomes the starter next to Zach Edey you accomplish a goal of being bigger as a starting five.

But there are numerous holes in Ament's game. The Manassas, Virginia product is still quite young and learning how to work and play in his body. But when you're an almost 7 foot tall wing player, finishing at the rim as poorly as Ament did in his lone college season is a bit of a red flag. Even so, his length and his potential as a shooter and in a specific role in an offense are why teams are considering him in the lottery.

Ament's clearly a project, however. And again, therein lies the rub. This would be a pick openly telling the NBA world and Memphis Grizzlies fan base that it's far more likely than not that the rebuild is a long, drawn out process. Is there such patience for that? Swapping out a "sure thing" for a "thing that may well be", both here and now with Ament and also four to six years away?

It's enough to make you heave...until you remember that Ja Morant is still on the roster...

The Grizzlies embrace the draft, while taking on nightmare contracts

Darko Rajakovic, the Head Coach of the Toronto Raptors, was a lead assistant for Memphis years ago. He had a connection with Ja Morant and saw the best of him with the Grizzlies. In this trade, he convinces Toronto to give Morant a go, and part with significant draft capital to do so. But Memphis will have to pay for it.

The Grizzlies trade Ja Morant and Taylor Hendricks, plus the #16 and #32 picks in the 2026 NBA Draft, to the Toronto Raptors for Immanuel Quickley, Jakob Poeltl, and three future first round picks (2027 unprotected, 2029 protected picks 1-4, 2031 protected picks 1-4).

The logic here is the Raptors push for a possible superstar in Morant to pair with RJ Barrett, Scottie Barnes, and Brandon Ingram. They use their newly acquired capital in the 2026 draft to bring in a big and additional depth. If things go south, Morant is off their books sooner than Quickley and Poeltl will be.

Memphis, while acquiring TWO more firsts in future draft proceedings, once again kicks the can down the road. No, Morant was likely not going to help resurrect the Grizzlies. But this contract being used in this way hamstrings future business...including upcoming extensions for Zach Edey and Cedric Coward.

Yes, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope will still be off the books eventually. But now the Grizzlies are essentially locked in to a core, and a 2026-2027 roster that looks something like this -

POINT GUARD - Immanuel Quickley, Scotty Pippen Jr., Walter Clayton Jr.

SHOOTING GUARD - Cedric Coward, Ty Jerome, Cam Spencer

SMALL FORWARD - Nate Ament, Jaylen Wells, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

POWER FORWARD - Santi Aldama, GG Jackson, Olivier Maxence-Prosper

CENTER - Zach Edey, Jakob Poeltl, ...

That chill that just ran down your spine is the realization that this worst-case scenario puts the Memphis Grizzlies in a position to be among the worst teams in the NBA once again. Maybe not bottom three bad. But this isn't a play-in team. Their front court is...fragile. And there is little room for improvement beyond an admittedly impressive draft treasure chest.

A draft process that just underwent dramatic changes...and may undergo even more reform three years from now. It's a massive bet on an extended process-style rebuild that may hit nicely, or it may completely alienate a fragile fan base in a market that's been under attack for some time now.

Memphis is a tough city, filled with tough folks. Would they, and the greater Grizzlies fanbase, be able to endure such a rebuild?

Lets hope such a scenario remains just a bad dream...so we never have to find out.

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