Grizzlies Enter Offseason Poised to Make Noise 🐻

Ja Morant's Health & Consistency Remain the Central Question for Memphis's Ceiling

With $40.7M locked in for three more seasons, Ja Morant is unquestionably the franchise cornerstone, but the Grizzlies' front office knows their ceiling hinges entirely on his ability to stay on the floor and recapture his All-NBA form. Memphis finished the 2025-26 campaign with a roster that looks deeper on paper than in recent injury-plagued years, featuring a surprisingly productive young core around Ja. The coaching staff will spend this offseason evaluating whether their supporting cast — headlined by Santi Aldama's quietly excellent two-way play and Zach Edey's blue-collar production — is enough to compete in a loaded Western Conference. If Morant can deliver 30-plus games of elite point guard play, Memphis has the infrastructure to be a genuine playoff threat in 2026-27.

The 2025-26 regular season has concluded and Memphis enters the offseason at 0-0 in the new ledger, with front office and coaching staff now shifting focus entirely to roster evaluation and draft preparation. No games are currently scheduled, making this a critical window for organizational decisions ahead of the NBA Draft and free agency. The Grizzlies' performance down the stretch of the just-completed season will heavily inform how aggressively they move this summer.

No notable roster moves have been reported as of May 18, 2026. Several players — including Zach Edey, Scotty Pippen Jr., GG Jackson, Lawson Lovering, Lucas Williamson, Brandon Clarke, DeJon Jarreau, and Jaylen Wells — are all on expiring one-year deals, making this an unusually active decision-making summer for Memphis's front office.

UNCONFIRMED SPECULATION: With eight players hitting free agency after this season and Memphis sitting comfortably under the luxury tax at $149M in total payroll, league sources suggest the Grizzlies have the flexibility to pursue a veteran frontcourt upgrade or a starting-caliber wing, potentially using their expiring contracts as trade chips. There is quiet buzz that Memphis could look to consolidate some of their depth pieces into a higher-ceiling secondary star to pair alongside Morant — names in the 'available' conversation league-wide have not yet been officially linked to Memphis.

The NBA's ongoing CBA discussions around two-way contract expansions and mid-level exception adjustments for the 2026-27 season are particularly relevant for Memphis, whose roster is littered with minimum-level contributors who could be re-signed, replaced, or flipped depending on how the new financial parameters shake out. If the league widens the two-way roster slots as rumored, the Grizzlies — known for developing undrafted and overlooked talent — would be among the franchises best positioned to capitalize on that additional roster flexibility.