Herrington: What are the Grizzlies doing this summer? Just listen to them.
The Memphis Grizzlies general manager Zach Kleiman listens to Javon Small speak at a June 27 press conference. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian)
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.
If you really want to know what the Memphis Grizzlies are up to, here’s a novel suggestion that’s so far proven reliable: Just listen to them.
It can sometimes be hard to see — or hear — what’s right in front of you. But not only has this been a tumultuous couple of months for the Grizzlies: getting swept out of the playoffs in April followed by a coaching hire and the trade of franchise stalwart Desmond Bane. It’s also been a perhaps unusually candid couple of months.
At a season-closing media session after the playoff loss, Grizzlies general manager Zach Kleiman asserted the team simply wasn’t close enough to competing at the league’s highest level and would need to get “uncomfortable” this offseason. At the same time, he insisted the team would not trade star guard Ja Morant and would prioritize a new contract extension for forward Jaren Jackson Jr.
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