Memphis opens its reset with Cameron Boozer at the center of the picture, a rebuilt supporting cast around him and a roster still searching for dependable minutes at point guard and center after a 25-57 season that left the club 13th in the Western Conference.
Key takeaways
- The Grizzlies moved Ja Morant to Portland, closing the book on the Morant-Jaren Jackson Jr. core.
- No. 3 overall pick Cameron Boozer will be given room to grow into a leading role from the start.
- Cedric Coward enters Year 2 after making the All-Rookie First Team with 13.6 points and nearly five rebounds per game.
- Zach Edey’s health is an early roster pressure point after recurrent left ankle issues limited him to 11 games last season.
- Ty Jerome’s scoring efficiency could give Memphis a needed playmaking fit beside its young frontcourt.
A new roster, with Boozer holding the long view
The Grizzlies’ summer additions include Boozer, Jerami Grant, Jordan Hawkins, Karim López, Kris Murray, Micah Peavy, Quinten Post, D’Angelo Russell, Richie Saunders and Isaiah Stewart. It is a broad remake after Memphis missed the playoffs, and the early work will be about establishing an identity rather than expecting an instant finished product.
Boozer arrives with the profile of a potential franchise cornerstone: young, skilled and composed enough to influence games as his responsibilities grow. Memphis can eventually shape its roster around the rookie, but the immediate task is seeing how quickly he can handle possessions, matchups and the nightly attention that follows a top-three pick.
Coward should be one of the clearest beneficiaries of the transition. The 6-foot-5 wing was the 11th selection in the 2025 Draft and took on a larger assignment after Jackson was dealt last season. At 22, he brought more maturity than many first-year players and responded with an All-Rookie First Team campaign. With the Grizzlies still building, Coward figures to have another steady supply of touches and chances to become a reliable partner for Boozer.
Grant and Stewart add veteran muscle and lineup flexibility, while the club also needs more from Edey. The 7-foot-3, 305-pound center has the size to give Memphis a stabilizing presence near the rim and could fit alongside Boozer, but he must first get beyond a difficult run of ankle trouble. Edey underwent two surgeries for recurring left ankle injuries after his rookie season and appeared only 11 times last year.
Preseason will provide the first meaningful read on his mobility and availability. If Edey is not ready to hold down the middle, Stewart and Post could take on larger center assignments, including a possible move into the first five.
Jerome’s small sample and the dates to circle
Jerome is another player whose role could matter quickly. In 15 games and 339 total minutes last season, he produced 31.4 points per 36 minutes, the fourth-highest rate among 434 players who logged at least 300 minutes. The limited workload makes that number difficult to project over a full season, but his prior Cleveland season offers another encouraging marker: 22.7 points per 36 across 1,392 minutes.
Across the past two seasons, Jerome has made 43.3% of his 3-point attempts and converted 54.2% of his pull-up 2s. If that shooting holds while he works as a regular starter, Memphis could have a guard capable of complementing its developing front line rather than carrying every possession himself.
The schedule supplies several early checkpoints for a team beginning a new chapter.
- Oct. 21 vs. Pelicans: Boozer faces No. 2 pick Darryn Peterson in the season opener.
- Nov. 16 vs. Wizards: Boozer meets No. 1 selection AJ Dybantsa in a matchup of rookies expected to contend for Rookie of the Year.
- Dec. 1 vs. 76ers: Stewart gets a test against Joel Embiid before Memphis heads to Detroit for his return against his former team in the following game.
- Feb. 6 vs. Trail Blazers: Morant returns to Memphis as Portland visits twice in three nights.
- Feb. 15 vs. Knicks: The game falls within a six-game run featuring two meetings apiece with the defending champion Knicks and runner-up Spurs, plus a date with the 2024 champion Celtics.
For Memphis, the season will not be defined by one October result or one rookie showdown. It will be measured in Boozer’s command, Coward’s second-year jump, Edey’s availability and whether the newcomers can give the Grizzlies enough structure to turn a teardown into a workable foundation.
