Memphis center Zach Edey had ankle surgery Tuesday, and the Grizzlies announced it with a little more timeline detail: Edey will be reevaluated in four months. 

That would mean early to mid-October, during NBA preseason. Even if a reevaluation is as positive as it can be, a player doesn’t return to action immediately. If Edey got an “all clear” at this reevaluation period, he’d likely still need at least a month to ramp up for game action, which would put his return a few weeks into the season. This is a best-case scenario.

This corresponds to the initial sense on the 7-foot-4, 305-pound Edey: He’s likely to miss the start of next season, but if recovery progresses well, the surgery wouldn’t cost him much of the season.

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That’s always a big if — and perhaps a bigger one with a player this, well, big. 

But this timeline matches the best past comps for similar kinds of ankle-ligament reconstruction surgeries. (Edey’s surgery has been described in terms of “stabilization.” It’s not clear whether the difference between that and the more commonly described “reconstruction” is meaningful or merely linguistic.) 

Current Cleveland Cavaliers guard Sam Merrill had a similar surgery in January 2022 while a member of the Grizzlies, which was reported as a 4-5 month rehab. That timeline landed in the middle of the summer, so it’s not clear when Merrill was fully able to play. Merrill was a back-of-the-roster player at that point. The Grizzlies waived him, and he had to work his way back into the league through the developmental system. But Merrill returned the next season and has since established himself as a meaningful NBA player.

A clearer comp is power forward Taj Gibson who played through ankle problems in the 2014-2015 season and then had ligament-reconstruction surgery in June 2015 with a reported four-month rehab. Gibson was back on the floor for the next season’s late-October opener, played 73 games and then 10 more NBA seasons. He was 30 years old when he had the surgery.

One less promising comp comes with other complications: Brooklyn Nets forward Joe Harris had ligament-reconstruction surgery in March 2022, but this was a second surgery that season. He did make it back to play 74 games the following season but wasn’t quite the same player, and his career ended soon after. Harris was also a more marginal player already on the wrong side of 30. His clock may have been ticking already. 

From the It Could Have Been Worse Department: If this was going to happen for Edey, better to come in a training session in June than in training camp in October. Most of his recovery will now come when there are no games to be played, and the Grizzlies will have their full summer to prepare for his absence.

What do the Grizzlies do?

The Grizzlies’ first option is simply to make do with what they have. Edey missed a month with an ankle injury last season, and Memphis went 10-2. Players are going to miss time, and a 15-man roster gives teams opportunities to withstand absences. 

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A quartet of Jaren Jackson Jr., Brandon Clarke, Santi Aldama and Jay Huff is a reasonable frontcourt rotation, light on physicality but offsetting that with shooting and activity. 

But I don’t think the Grizzlies will try to just make due for a few reasons: 

• They can’t assume Edey will miss only a few weeks or won’t be limited for a while after his return.
• While Clarke is currently projected to be ready for the start of training camp, his own injury/durability issues are a concern. 
• Huff could be sacrificed to clear a sliver of salary-cap space if the team negotiates a raise and contract extension for Jackson. 
• Even if Huff isn’t a contract casualty, the screening and rebounding new coach Tuomas Iisalo seems to want from the position suggests the need for a different type of backup center.

As illustrated in this space earlier, if the Grizzlies do pursue a “renegotiate-and-extend” for Jackson, they will be very limited in free agency. At that point, they would only be able to use the league’s $8.8 million “room exception” — which can also be used to take players in a trade — or minimum-salary offers. Any other addition would have to come through a larger trade. 

And while the center position has suddenly become the most pressing to start the season, the Grizzlies could see needs on the perimeter — particularly more size and experience on the wing — as the bigger full-season priority. Where should they direct limited resources?

I think it will depend in part on what’s available to do. The Grizzlies have a use for new talent in all three broad player types: guards, wings and bigs. Given that, I suspect they’ll weigh talent and impact among the options rather than predetermine a position to prioritize. 

I’ll write about potential guard and wing targets in a separate piece and mostly set aside higher-priced targets only obtainable through trade for yet another separate piece. 

If the Grizzlies have up to $8.8 million to sign or acquire a center, what are the options? 

Probably out of reach

There are half a dozen notable candidates who might fit the financial parameters but who I think are long shots for various reasons. In ascending order of likelihood:

Utah’s Walker Kessler ($4.9 million) and Charlotte’s Mark Williams ($6.3 million) are talented, young centers on contracts that could be traded into the $8.8 million exception and may well be on the market. In fact, Charlotte already attempted to trade Williams last season. But with the Grizzlies still seeing Edey as the long-term answer at the position, I don’t think they’d pay the cost (likely in draft picks) to trade for either.

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Milwaukee’s Bobby Portis has a player option next season for $13.4 million. He’s a rebounder and shooter who could play in different lineups and fit neatly into a bench role after Edey’s return. But his play has been declining on defense and he would seem unlikely to turn down $13.4 million next season to sign a two-year $18 million deal. Would he do so for three years and $28 million, the most the Grizzlies could offer? 

Houston’s Steven Adams, Atlanta’s Clint Capela and Milwaukee’s Brook Lopez are unrestricted free agents. All are veterans at the stage of their career when you could see them settling into a backup role after Edey’s return. 

But Adams’ prior tenure with the Grizzlies ended so poorly it’s hard to see any return, and especially not at a price I’d imagine the Rockets would gladly match. The $8.8 million also seems too low to get Capela to relocate. I do think Lopez might be on the move this summer, but I could see the California native going to one of the Los Angeles teams for even less.

But Capela and Lopez, in particular, are worth a call.

Actual favored targets

Considering the first group unlikely, these four players are the players I really think the Grizzlies should be looking at:

Orlando’s Goga Bitadze should perhaps be in the first group. He’s under contract for $8.2 million next season, which would fit into the Grizzlies’ exception, and the Magic have made a longer-term commitment to center Wendell Carter Jr. I think they’d probably be willing to move Bitadze but suspect it’s more likely to be as part of a bigger trade, not to clear salary. But the 25-year-old center is a strong rebounder and defender who would fit equally well as a starter or high-level reserve.

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Brooklyn’s Day’Ron Sharpe will be a restricted free agent if the Nets extend a “qualifying offer.” But the Nets already have another young center, Nic Claxton, on a long-term contract. They might match an $8.8 million offer sheet, which is probably more than the Grizzlies would want to offer anyway. But the Grizzlies have reportedly made trade overtures for Sharpe in the past. Maybe there’s a deal here. Still only 23 years old, Sharpe is a very limited scorer but is a good rebounder and defender who is a surprisingly adept passer.

Boston’s Luke Kornet had a memorable night this spring, jumping off the bench for 10 points, nine rebounds and seven blocks in a playoff win against the Knicks. Kornet is an unrestricted free agent, and there’s an assumption around NBA media he’ll be returning to Boston. But Kornet is 29 years old, has made a total of $14.2 million in his NBA career and everyone assumes the Celtics will be looking to cut salary this summer. The Grizzlies — and, right, many other NBA teams – could double Kornet’s career earnings on a two-year deal without even using their full exception. How much is Kornet willing to turn down to stay in Boston? How much is Boston willing to pay to match outside offers? 

Kornet’s not a sure thing. He’s been more of a third-string center for much of his career. But his game has evolved from the face-up shooter he was initially to the shot-blocking, offensive-rebounding, at-the-rim finishing traditional big he’s become in Boston. Kornet was good in a limited role last season and seems primed for more whether back in Boston or elsewhere.

What if the Grizzlies don’t want to use most or all of their exception to acquire a center? Who’s the best center the Grizzlies could get on a minimum salary or for less than half of the room exception?

My favorite option might be Jericho Sims who’s been a deep reserve option for New York and Milwaukee. Now an unrestricted free agent at age 26, Sims is very limited offensively. But his combination of screening, rebounding and at-the-rim finishing mirrors Edey’s strengths. He seems to fit the style of play Iisalo wants at the position.

Among players who appeared in at least half of last season’s games, Sims was fifth in screen assists per minute and 19th in offensive rebound rate. He had 35 dunks and converted 11 of 12 alley-oop dunks in a limited role.

Other lower-cost free-agent targets

Some other on-the-cheap, unrestricted free-agent center options:

Golden State’s Kevon Looney seems like an old 29 and has seen his role diminish. But he’s been durable, is thought of as a good locker room guy and, while not much of a scorer or shooter, has always been a strong rebounder and solid passer. But it’s hard to see him leaving Golden State for a minimum contract, and it’s hard to see the Grizzlies offering too much more.

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Indiana’s Thomas Bryant had some decent moments in the playoffs. He’s a rebounder/shot-blocker who can stretch the floor a little as a shooter. The Pacers will need to re-sign starter Myles Turner this summer and have another young center (Isaiah Jackson) likely returning from injury next season. Bryant could be on the move. 

Like Sims, but probably more so, San Antonio’s Charles Bassey is a young player who’s been more of a third-string center but has flashed some potential, particularly as a rebounder and shot-blocker. He’s the kind of low-cost flier who might pay off or might be a miss.

A familiar name: New York’s Precious Achiuwa. The former Memphis Tiger is undersized (6-foot-8) for the center position and was barely used by the Knicks in the playoffs. But he’s a versatile defender who could play in a lot of different lineups. 

I like the idea of Atlanta’s Larry Nance Jr. as someone who can provide veteran presence and operate in different kinds of lineups up and down the Grizzlies’ depth chart, but I suspect his own injury/durability concerns might eliminate him from consideration.