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Grizzlies Insider: Mock draft roundup; NBA TV news

By , Daily Memphian Updated: June 06, 2024 7:55 PM CT | Published: June 06, 2024 11:52 AM CT

There are still questions about where the Memphis Grizzlies will select on draft night later this month, and rightfully so.

General manager Zach Kleiman has a history of moving around the draft landscape via trades. He did so when he selected Desmond Bane, Brandon Clarke, Ziaire Williams, Jake LaRavia and Santi Aldama. 

No one would be stunned if he did it again. In fact, the latest intel from the Ringer’s national NBA reporter Kevin O’Connor suggested Memphis could have interest this season in moving up as high as No. 3, presumably to select coveted UConn big man Donovan Clingan. 

In the spirit of mock draft season, here’s an attempt to wrangle all the information that is out there from major publications:

Kevin O’Connor, the Ringer 

Kel’el Ware, 7-0, C, Indiana 

Ware transferred from Oregon to Indiana and averaged 15.9 points and 9.9 rebounds last season. His game is more finesse than power, but he possesses the ability to space the floor as both a lob threat and an outside shooter. 

His shooting is still in question. Ware shot 42.5% from 3 last season with the Hoosiers, but only 63.4% from the free-throw line. 

His style wouldn’t match a player like Steven Adams, but his skill set could align with how the Grizzlies see themselves playing in the future. 

Johnathan Givony and Jeremy Woo, ESPN — Gary Parrish, CBS

Dalton Knecht, 6-5, SF, Tennessee

Knecht was an All-American with the Vols and is a silky scorer. His 21.7 points per game in the highly competitive SEC makes him an intriguing prospect for teams looking to win now, like Memphis. 

His 39.7% 3-point percentage on a high volume makes him one of the best shooters in the class. 

Kyle Boone, CBS

Matas Buzelis, 6-9, F, G League Ignite

Buzelis, a former five-star recruit, averaged 14.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 2.1 blocks and 0.9 steals in his time with the G League Ignite. 

He has excellent ball handling and agility for his size, which is certain to intrigue NBA teams hoping to find a player who can produce on both ends of the floor. 

At the next level, Buzelis will have to prove that he has a consistent jumper. He finished with 44.5/27.3/67.9 shooting splits last season. 

Sam Vecenie, The Athletic

Rob Dillingham, 6-1, G, Kentucky

This would be a perplexing selection for the Grizzlies because Dillingham is a dynamic scoring guard who is flawed defensively. 

Memphis already has a shifty offensive supernova in Ja Morant, and often uses Bane as the backup point guard when Morant checks out. 

Vecenie also seems to recognize that, acknowledging that none of the prospect options at this point of the draft fit Memphis perfectly. For that reason, he speculates that a trade could be coming. 

NBA nears new national television deal

The Wall Street Journal dropped some national television news as everyone waits for the NBA Finals to get started on Thursday. 

According a report by Joe Flint, Amol Sharma and Isabella Simonetti, the league is nearing a $76 billion television deal with ESPN, NBC and Amazon.

The deal would give Amazon the rights to in-season tournament games, as well as the play-in tournament. 

ESPN (Disney), would continue to air the NBA Finals on ABC, but would see their total number of games slashed in half. 

NBC would get the rights to roughly 100 games, with plans to air about half of them on its streaming service, Peacock. 

This means fans across the league may need to diversify their subscriptions this summer if they hope to watch all of the nationally broadcasted games.

It is still unclear what will happen to the Grizzlies’ local broadcasts on Bally Sports.

Diamond Sports group, Bally’s parent company, is still trying to exit bankruptcy. A short-term deal was agreed to last November that allowed them to carry games through the end of the 2023-24 NBA regular season. Future plans have not yet been announced. 

Additionally, Comcast (Xfinity) is no longer airing the Bally Sports channels after failing to reach a new carriage agreement with Diamond Sports Group last month.


More from your Insider:


Grizzlies podcast: NBA Draft and offensive philosophy

Drew Hill and Chris Herrington discuss how the Grizzlies vision for the future could impact their draft decisions later this month. 

Herrington: For Grizzlies, NBA Finals offer hope for next season

The NBA Finals tip off Thursday night. How should the Grizzlies, watching from the couch, feel about that?

New school Grizzlies: How forward-thinking is the franchise willing to be?

The Grizzlies hired Noah LaRoche last month as the head of player development and an assistant coach. Does the hire signal anything about the team’s process moving forward?

City’s annual payment for Grizzlies’ shortfalls coming out of rainy day fund

On Tuesday, the Memphis City Council is scheduled to amend the existing budget so the city can pay the Grizzlies; the payment was not part of the budget when it passed last summer. 

Herrington: 9 players the Grizzlies should consider at No. 9

A look at nine players Chris Herrington would consider the Grizzlies taking with their No. 9 overall pick in next month’s NBA Draft.

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Memphis Grizzlies Memphis Grizzlies basketball Grizzlies Insider Subscriber Only

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Drew Hill

Drew Hill

Drew Hill covers the Memphis Grizzlies and is a top-10 APSE winner. He has worked throughout the South writing about college athletics before landing in Memphis.


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