Grizzlies Draft Day Notebook: Coward cost, JJJ impact and the second round
Cedric Coward talks to media at the 2025 NBA Draft Combine in Chicago on May 14. (Nam Y. Huh/AP file)
Chris Herrington
Chris Herrington has covered the Memphis Grizzlies, in one way or another, since the franchise’s second season in Memphis, while also writing about music, movies, food and civic life. As far as he knows, he’s the only member of the Professional Basketball Writers Association who is also a member of a film critics group and has also voted in national music critic polls for Rolling Stone and the Village Voice (RIP). He and his wife have two kids and, for reasons that sometimes elude him, three dogs.
We’re halfway through this year’s NBA Draft. The Memphis Grizzlies traded up in the first round to select Washington State wing Cedric Coward. Now they have two picks left on the board in Thursday’s second round, which begins at 7 p.m.
Let’s pause between the rounds to take stock with some next-day notes and reactions to the Grizzlies’ first-round move, how it might impact the rest of their summer and what we might expect in the second round.
Was the move up worth the cost?
We often talk about NBA transactions and roster-building in the language of “asset management,” which is perhaps unavoidable in a salary-cap-based league in which future draft picks are a standard unit of currency.
From an “asset management” viewpoint, did Grizzlies general manager Zach Kleiman overpay to move up from No. 16 to No. 11 in the draft Wednesday night? Maybe so.
This is an excerpt of this story. To read more, please click here and subscribe.
Topics
Memphis Grizzlies 2025 NBA Draft Cedric Coward Jaren Jackson Jr. Subscriber OnlyIt’s GivingTuesday week! Will you join the celebration?
Donate now to help power our free community news access program.You know the value of having unlimited access to The Daily Memphian’s news. When you subscribe, you get full access to our news. But when you donate, you help us reach all Memphians with quality, in-depth local news through
- free access at over 300 schools and libraries
- free podcasts and radio broadcasts
- free newsletters
- and more!
Thank you for keeping up with local news. Thank you for investing in our community.
Chris Herrington on demand
Never miss an article. Sign up to receive Chris Herrington's stories as they’re published.
Enter your e-mail address
Related stories
Grizzlies center helps unveil revamped Streets Ministries rec room
Throughout May and June, the Memphis Grizzlies revamped the organization’s recreation room.
Grizzlies Draft Day Notebook: Roundups, reactions and more
A roundup of mock drafts and draft-related rumors, musings on the potential Grizzlies ramifications of leaguewide pre-draft trades and other new thoughts and observations.
Zach Kleiman talks Desmond Bane, Cedric Coward and free agency
Grizzlies general manager Zach Kleiman spoke for the first time on NBA Draft night since trading away Desmond Bane and selecting Cedric Coward with the 11th pick.Related content:
Comments
Want to comment on our stories or respond to others? Join the conversation by subscribing now. Only paid subscribers can add their thoughts or upvote/downvote comments. Our commenting policy can be viewed here.