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.
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Memphis Grizzlies 2025 NBA Draft Cedric Coward Jaren Jackson Jr. Subscriber OnlyAre you enjoying your subscription?
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