The Memphis Grizzlies won the 2019 NBA Draft

The Memphis Grizzlies have had the most impressive draft class in the league. Now, can Ja Morant and Brandon Clarke get the Grizzlies on the right track?

Through the first 30-plus games of the season, there’s one team that has caught my eye as a favorite watch on NBA League Pass – the Memphis Grizzlies.

Now that may seem a little out there with all the good teams you can watch every night, but there is something about this Memphis team that I absolutely love, and it starts with their two rookies, Ja Morant and Brandon Clarke.

Last season was a transition season for the Memphis Grizzlies. They saw themselves entering a rebuild as their window with the Grit and Grind era had come to an end. They finished the season 33-49, which was 12th best in the Western Conference. The team had shipped out veteran Marc Gasol during the season to Toronto and moved star point guard Mike Conely to Utah in the offseason.

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Fate favored the Grizzlies on NBA Draft Lottery night. The Boston Celtics owned the Grizzlies pick if it was out the top 8. With how the Grizzlies finished, their projected spot in the draft order was outside the top 8. The ping pong balls fell their way, and they ended up with the 2nd overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft.

The Grizzlies took Ja Morant with the second pick of the NBA draft. The sophomore guard out of Murray State had a sensational season, playing his best basketball to date and creating viral highlights that you couldn’t miss. Morant is an uber-athletic point guard with great length. He can will his way to the rim, making an array of circus shots with ease.

Morant has shown he has a shooting touch too; shooting nearly 40 percent from 3-point range. He has already made huge plays such as this one where he hits the game-tying layup and on the very next play blocks Kyrie Irving to send the game into overtime. He has broken the internet on a few occasions with his dunks/almost dunks that you could print and add them to the How-to-Poster-Someone textbook.

Morant plays with fearlessness and poise that I don’t think I’ve ever seen. Ja Morant is likely the clear cut Rookie of the Year. This is only one of the two rookies on this team, however.

The second rookie is Brandon Clarke. The Grizzlies made a draft-night deal to swap Darius Bazley for Brandon Clarke. Clarke is a power forward out of Gonzaga that was part of the one-two punch they had with Rui Hachimura.

Some of the media had Clarke pegged as a lottery level talent but slid on draft night. The Grizzlies were wise to make this move. Memphis needed a backup power forward to replace Jaren Jackson Jr.when he comes off the floor. They certainly found the perfect one.

Clarke is as athletic as Morant, most notably his mindblowing hops. He is perfect in the pick and roll game because he is a dangerous roller, always a threat for a lob, or he can pop out and knock down the open 3-point shot. Clarke really showcased his talents in a game against the Washington Wizards in which he did a little of it all offensively.

Another big bright spot of his game is his rebounding ability. He is a tenacious rebounder. Clarke really fits in no matter what unit he is playing with, starters or the bench. The Grizzlies have really found a gem in Brandon Clarke.

With the combination of selections, Ja Morant and Brandon Clarke, it’s a no-brainer that the Memphis Grizzlies have won the 2019 NBA Draft. It’s maybe too early to start throwing out who won the draft since we haven’t even seen Zion Williamson play yet, but if you asked me who won the draft as of today, it’s clearly Memphis. Morant and Clarke have both been playing at extremely high levels, respectively, and it’s not even close.

The future looks extremely bright in Memphis. Pair these two sensational rookies with Jaren Jackson Jr., and you have a core you can start to build around. They have silently put together one of the more promising young cores in the NBA. Dillon Brooks is another name you should look at to include as well.

Memphis is likely to lose its first-round pick to Boston due to the protection rolling over from the previous season. No one likes to lose first-round picks, but they will be alright because of the talent they acquired through the past draft. There is still a lot of work to be done in Memphis before they become a real threat in the West, but at least the blueprint is there for something special.