On January 25th, 2023 the Memphis Grizzlies fell to the Golden State Warriors off a devastating last-second shot.
It was the shimmying shooter’s wingman and counterpart, Jordan Poole, who flew past second-year Grizzly Ziaire Williams on a backdoor cut to end the game. From an outside perspective, it was just another thrilling finish capped off by a last-second shot. To the Grizzlies faithful the implications and outcome of the game went a lot deeper than just another loss.
The backdoor cut by Poole opened up many questions about the future of the small forward position in Memphis. With one of the questions being the following.
Are there any current Grizzlies that could take over Dillon Brooks’ starting spot next season?
Three Current Grizzlies That Could Replace Dillon Brooks
Ziaire Williams
Indecisiveness. The former word plagued the former tenth overall pick in year two of his NBA campaign. And the game-winning play produced by Golden State was a prime example of Williams’ pattern of overthinking. In the 2022-2023 season, Williams averaged 5.7 PPG with an overall field goal percentage of 42.9 % and a three-point percentage of 25.8%.
Most Grizzlies fans in October of 2022 would tell you Williams was one of the most likely players on the team to make a leap that season. Many also believed he was slated to become Brooks’ future replacement. With Williams’ struggles from last season fans are beginning to question if he even has a future with the team. A quantum step further than the previous conversation of if he should get the starting small forward spot. But despite the questioning of Williams’ future and his second-year slump as a Grizzly here is why it is too soon to hit the panic button. He is 21 years old.
Williams got drafted as a project player. It was known that he was extremely raw coming out of college at Stanford. And to think he would be prime to be a starter come year two is a bit unrealistic. He is simply still learning the NBA game and is still developing as a player. Is he ready to be a starting small forward in the NBA? Probably not. In the future could he be? Absolutely.
Many NBA players don’t blossom into their full potential in their first two years in the league. And Williams could be one of these players who is just one season away from putting it all together. He will continue to progress as a player and gain experience. His indecisive decisions will become less and less, and maybe one day Williams will be sitting on the bench with Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr., as he awaits his name to be called as one of the starting five for the Memphis Grizzlies.
Jake LaRavia
The Grizzlies in the 2022 NBA draft drafted three wing players, Jake LaRavia, David Roddy, and Vince Williams Jr.. It is very clear that the Grizzlies had their eyes on a specific brand of player in the draft. Two of these Wings have shown promise that they could be potential candidates as Brooks’ replacement come next season. Although he did not get a ton of time with the Grizzlies, LaRavia was able to show why Memphis used their 2022 first-round pick on him while playing for the Grizzlies’ G-Leauge team, the Memphis Hustle. For the Hustle LaRavia averaged 18.8 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 2.6 APG.
His superb play in South Haven gives hope that general manager Zach Kleiman might have hit another home run in the draft.
Despite his noteworthy development LaRavia is likely a long shot to start next season. But if he shows a whiff of any of the extraordinary development that Desmond Bane showcased after his rookie year at summer league, number three for the Grizzlies has a chance of being slotted in as the team’s next starting small forward.
David Roddy
The rookie season for the forward out of Colorado State was one to remember. Roddy had moments throughout the season that screamed NBA starter. With a string of these showcase moments all coming in one game against the Dallas Mavericks. On March 11th, 2023, he put together his most memorable performance of the season. Roddy had a career-high 24 points, with 17 of these points coming in the fourth quarter. His career-best performance helped the Grizzlies flurry back and beat the Mavericks 112-108, in a come-from-behind victory.
Roddy, out of both LaRavia and Williams, has the greatest chance to start if the Grizzlies stay in-house for the position. He is the only one out of the three that got meaningful playoff minutes and consistent playing time in the later stages of the regular season. He has shown he is a respectable and capable defender, as well as showing he has the potential to one day be a consistent deep threat.
Roddy is the most ready-now player out of the three candidates. And out of all the Grizzlies’ players on the roster, he would currently be the best candidate to replace Brooks.
