With the thought that the Memphis Grizzlies don’t know yet that they would be able to snag a Rookie of the Year front runner in the 2019 NBA Draft in point guard Ja Morant and that they would be so bad during the 2018-19 regular season, the scouting here changes. The Grizzlies should go with the best player left on the board, which would be the former 6-foot-5 Kentucky Wildcats guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
The NBA journey for Gilgeous-Alexander from when he was selected 11th overall in the 2018 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Clippers up until now was a long one. SGA spent a solid rookie season with a good Clippers young core before he became a focal point of the deal between LA and the Oklahoma City Thunder that involved superstar forward Paul George.
However, the Thunder are going to use SGA as a building block for their franchise moving forward. He is a quality guard that will get to learn under the wing of former superstar point guard Chris Paul.
So far this season, SGA is averaging 18.3 points per game, 4.8 rebounds, and 3.1 assists while improving in pretty much every major stat category in his second year.
But in this scenario, the Grizzlies might still get to piece together an insanely talented young backcourt that includes Morant and SGA. Imagine that explosive and athletic combination for the Grizzlies this season. They would have one of the best budding young backcourts in the NBA.