Winslow’s Grizzlies debut big for front office
Justise Winslow missed 3-pointers and layups and free throws. He missed his first shot one minute into his first game with the Memphis Grizzlies and he missed the team's final shot of the first half. He missed nine shots in all before halftime after missing every other game played since he was acquired from the Miami Heat at the 2019 NBA trade deadline last February.
And as Winslow laid out everything he's gone through since then – a back injury before he arrived in Memphis; a pandemic that halted the season the night before he was set to make his Grizzlies debut last March; a hip injury he suffered in practice this summer right before Memphis began playing games in the NBA bubble; the emotional and mental anxiety of enduring a year's worth of setbacks away from family in a new city during a global health crisis and a burgeoning social justice movement – it was very easy to miss the most important caveat attached to his actual Grizzlies debut Saturday night.
“Came to a great organization,” Winslow said after a 128-97 blowout loss to the Phoenix Suns that devolved into watching his every move on the court. “An organization that wanted me and truly believed in me.”
It's an organization that already invested a lot of time and trade capital to reach this moment, Winslow's first NBA game in more than 400 days, when he effectively began an extended tryout to see whether he will be a key piece alongside Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. once they reach the beginning of their prime in a few years.
So more so than any other Grizzlies player, Winslow embodies the evolution of the task at hand if Memphis is to fully take advantage of the generational talent Morant hopes to be.
Winslow is the first big swing this current front office took at cashing in some of the assets it adroitly acquired during their first offseason, when they spun Mike Conley into an array of draft picks and young players that transformed the organization heading into Morant's rookie season.
It meant Winslow's debut was more than just a relief after a year of obstacles. It represented the start of the next chapter to this rebuild.
The Grizzlies have proven adept at remaking the roster quicker than expected, creating salary cap flexibility, replenishing their inventory of draft picks and then adding rotation players with
those picks the past two years. Now, they have to use all that to turn this from an ahead-of-schedule fringe playoff team into a team competing for a Western Conference title.
Winslow, therefore, is the initial litmus test for executive vice president of basketball operations Zach Kleiman and the team's brass because of what it took to get him here from the Miami Heat.
In case you forgot, because the threeteam trade to acquire Winslow took place more than a year ago, here's a refresher: Andre Iguodala's expiring contract, Jae Crowder's expiring contract, Solomon Hill's expiring contract, and a $12.7 million buyout of Dion Waiters' contract.
Losing all that wouldn't be a significant blow for the Grizzlies future, even if Winslow isn't the versatile two-way wing Memphis desires. All of those players were going to be dealt last year, for Winslow or something else.
The Grizzlies still have extra firstround draft picks and a young nucleus to make another trade for another potential impact player down the road. The salary cap space used on Waiters this year isn't as important as the salary cap space Memphis possesses this offseason and beyond.
It's why the Grizzlies pulled the trigger on this particular deal. Their previous moves minimized some of the risk that accompanied Winslow's arrival.
But it's not an insignificant price paid, either, because Memphis used all of its 2019 chips on Winslow. The Grizzlies “believed in me,” as Winslow put it. If he doesn't work out, it would be the first overt mistake made by Kleiman.
And now, because of Winslow's combination of misfortune and bad luck, there are only 46 remaining regular season games and perhaps extra postseason games before Memphis must decide to pick up a $13 million option on Winslow's contract for next year.
The guess here is if Winslow shows glimpses of the player he was when healthy in Miami, and the player Memphis hopes he can be around Morant and Jackson, he's going to be back for the 2021-22 season. If only because it would be a reasonable enough expiring contract to trade in the worst-case scenario. For the short term, Winslow should give a playmaking and defensive boost to the Grizzlies' bench.
For the future, he's the most intriguing player on the roster not named Morant or Jackson, especially since there's an element of the unknown given his injury history.
“This guy has a bright future with us,” Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins declared after Winslow had nine points and seven rebounds on 3 of 14 shooting in his first game. "He'll be back to normal Justise very, very soon."
Theoretically, he'll be just what Memphis is missing.
You can reach Commercial Appeal columnist Mark Giannotto via email at mgiannotto@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter: @mgiannotto