<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/grizzlies-news-marcus-smart-reveals-zach-edey-unlock-full-potential-defense');   ga('set', 'title', 'Marcus Smart reveals how Zach Edey can unlock full potential of Grizzlies’ defense');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Grizzlies-news-Marcus-Smart-reveals-how-Zach-Edey-can-unlock-full-potential-of-Memphis-defense.jpg"></figure><h1>Marcus Smart reveals how Zach Edey can unlock full potential of Grizzlies’ defense</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-09T18:18:04-07:00">October 9th, 6:18pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-09T18:18:04-07:00">October 9th, 6:18pm</time><address><a>Chris Dodson</a>Chris Dodson is a New Orleans Pelicans beat reporter for ClutchPoints. He has covered Louisiana high school and college basketball in spurts for over a decade. A basketball lifer from the bayou, his gumbo-stirring form matches his elbow jumper celebrations. Fast enough for varsity hoops, tall enough for a soccer scholarship. He has words and will travel, just not on the court.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/grizzlies-news-memphis-not-going-vanilla-preseason-opener-mavericks">Memphis Grizzlies are going all-out</a> this preseason to shake off Ja Morant’s rust and aid in Zach Edey’s rookie adjustments. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mavericks-news-luka-doncic-kyrie-irving-championship-marcus-smart">Marcus Smart is already talking championship</a>, among other things. The former NBA Defensive Player of the Year (2021-22) also revealed how Zach Edey can unlock the full potential of the Grizzlies’ defense.</p><p>Specifically, Smart recently explained how having Edey act as the defensive anchor this season will give the Grizzlies a boost. Of course, one attribute in particular <a href="https://www.sportskeeda.com/basketball/news-it-s-going-deadly-marcus-smart-talks-ja-morant-zach-edey-pick-and-roll-potential-grizzlies-defensive-ceiling-exclusive" rel="noopener">could not be ignored</a>, per Sportskeeda’s Grant Afseth.</p><p>“Huge, man. (Edey) is going to be huge for us,” Smart stated. “He allows us to do a lot of different things on the defensive end. He lets me and Jaren really give everything we’ve got. Being former Defensive Players of the Year, it’s great to have that rim protection behind us. Being 7-foot-4 helps with that.”</p><p>Edey is also more than just his height according to Smart.</p><p>“He moves very well,” explained Smart. “His IQ is very high and he’s only continuing to get better.”</p><h2><b>Grizzlies, Zach Edey agree with DPOY’s scouting report</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Zach-Edey-defends-the-rim.jpg"><figcaption>Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The Grizzlies took a chance on one of the most talked about NBA Draft curiosities of the past decade. They saw potential Purdue alum Zach Edey already knew was in the toolbox. Smart is seeing it now in practice. The big man can move but people were not paying attention to the right things, as <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/grizzlies-zach-edey-promises-surprises-critics-who-didnt-watch-purdue">Edey told ClutchPoints during Grizzlies Media Day.</a></p><p>“Most of my journey has been pretty well reported,” Edey shared. “I think that a lot of people got caught up in me being 7-foot-4, 300 pounds and just took that at face value. A lot of people didn’t really watch me play at Purdue. They didn’t watch me move around and do certain things at Purdue. It is what it is but yeah, there are a lot of things I can do that people don’t know about.”</p><p>Fans will get to see Edey play with the freedom to make inconsequential mistakes four more times before the regular season begins. Home games against the Charlotte Hornets (Oct. 10) and the Miami Heat (Oct. 18) sandwich road trips to Chicago (Oct. 12) and Indiana (Oct. 14).</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Marcus Smart reveals how Zach Edey can unlock full potential of Grizzlies’ defense

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/grizzlies-news-marcus-smart-scary-warning-ja-morant-zach-edey-duo');   ga('set', 'title', 'Marcus Smart sends scary warning about Ja Morant-Zach Edey duo');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Grizzlies-news-Marcus-Smart-sends-scary-warning-about-Zach-Edey-Ja-Morant-duo.jpg"></figure><h1>Marcus Smart sends scary warning about Ja Morant-Zach Edey duo</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-09T18:16:07-07:00">October 9th, 6:16pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-09T18:16:07-07:00">October 9th, 6:16pm</time><address><a>David Yapkowitz</a>David Yapkowitz is an NBA Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He is a credentialed reporter based in Los Angeles who covers the NBA/WNBA, NCAA/NCAAW and boys/girls high school basketball.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Memphis Grizzlies plan to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/grizzlies-news-ja-morant-optimistic-ankle-injury-update-after-scare">be cautious with Ja Morant following an injury scare</a>. The superstar point guard suffered an ankle injury during the team’s preseason game against the Dallas Mavericks, and they need him at full strength. The Grizzlies could have something scary brewing with the Ja Morant and Zach Edey two-man game, at least teammate Marcus Smart thinks so.</p><p>Marcus Smart recently spoke about how the addition of Edey <a href="https://www.sportskeeda.com/basketball/news-it-s-going-deadly-marcus-smart-talks-ja-morant-zach-edey-pick-and-roll-potential-grizzlies-defensive-ceiling-exclusive" rel="noopener">will impact the team</a> on the court this upcoming season, as per Grant Afseth of Sportskeeda.</p><p>“Oh it’s going to be deadly, man. It’s just going to open up things even more for us, especially for Ja. We all know what Ja can do with a little bit of space, so just image what he can do with a lot of space cleared out by a big like Zach.”</p><p>Zach Edey gives the Grizzlies a legit center and size in the frontcourt. The team selected Edey with the No. 9 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft amid concerns about how his game might translate to the NBA. But the former Purdue big man played well in summer league.</p><p>And he played well in the Grizzlies preseason opener against the Mavericks. He finished with six points, seven rebounds, one steal and one blocked shot.</p><h2><b>Ja Morant’s return to the Grizzlies<br></b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Morant-during-preseason.jpg"><figcaption>Jerome Miron-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Ja Morant was suspended for the first 25 games of the 2023-24 season, but when he made his season debut he showed no signs of being rusty or out of shape. Unfortunately for the Grizzlies, Morant suffered a shoulder injury that ended up sidelining him for the majority of the year.</p><p>But Morant is back and set to make his return to the Grizzlies lineup. With him in the lineup, the Grizzlies’ ceiling is raised significantly. Last year they did not make the playoffs amid several key injuries. But if fully healthy, this team looks like they could be a factor in the Western Conference standings.</p><p>Morant had been coming off consecutive All-Star seasons before last year. He was only able to appear in nine games for the Grizzlies during 2023-24. He averaged 25.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and 8.1 assists with splits of 47.1 percent shooting from the field, 27.5 percent shooting from the three-point line and 81.3 percent shooting from the free-throw line.</p><p>One of the next steps in his continued elevation is getting his three-point percentage up to a slightly higher efficiency. He’s a career 31.8 percent shooter from three and the highest percentage he’s ever shot is 34.4 percent. He can shoot the three-ball consistently though.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Marcus Smart sends scary warning about Ja Morant-Zach Edey duo

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mavericks-news-luka-doncic-kyrie-irving-championship-marcus-smart');   ga('set', 'title', 'Mavericks’ Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving get championship truth bombs from Marcus Smart');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Luka-Doncic-Kyrie-Irving-get-truth-bombs-from-Marcus-Smart.jpg"></figure><h1>Mavericks’ Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving get championship truth bombs from Marcus Smart</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-09T06:59:12-07:00">October 9th, 6:59am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-09T07:04:28-07:00">October 9th, 7:04am</time><address><a href="https://www.facebook.com/joey.mistretta/" rel="facebook">Joey Mistretta</a>Joey Mistretta is a Dallas Mavericks beat reporter, Dallas Wings beat reporter and lead MLB editor for ClutchPoints. He is originally from Lake Arrowhead, California. Mistretta graduated from Biola University with a degree in broadcast journalism.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Exclusive</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>DALLAS — The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mavericks-dallas-nba-preseason-jaden-hardy-jazian-gortman">Dallas Mavericks were defeated 121-116 in their preseason opener</a> against the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night. The morning before the game, however, Grizzlies guard Marcus Smart took some time to speak with ClutchPoints after Memphis’ shoot-around. Smart addressed a number of topics, including Kyrie Irving’s fit with the Mavs and Luka Doncic’s career progression.</p><h2><b>Marcus Smart explains “advantage” of having Kyrie Irving on the Mavericks roster</b></h2><p>Smart, who has played in the NBA since the 2014-15 season, is quite familiar with Irving’s game. He has seen the guard play with different teams and was impressed by Kyrie’s first full season with the Mavs.</p><p>“I thought it was great,” Smart told ClutchPoints of Irving’s first full season in Dallas. “I mean… Coming to Dallas nobody was expecting them to do what they did in the fashion that they did it. That shows a lot. Kai (Irving) came in and was a part of that process to get them there. Obviously you got Luka and those other guys, but to have Kai there is just a big advantage for them to help them get over that hump and get them to the next level. And that’s what they did… They didn’t win (a championship), but they got there. They figured out what it takes.”</p><p>Smart’s comments will increase the confidence of Mavericks fans. He clearly took notice of Dallas’ postseason run and believes the Mavs “figured out what it takes” to get the job done in the postseason.</p><h2><b>Luka Doncic’s career progression gets Marcus Smart admission</b></h2><p>Doncic has emerged as one of the best players in the NBA. He is a consistent MVP candidate. Although he has yet to win the award, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/2024-25-nba-media-poll-mvp-luka-doncic-shai-gilgeous-alexander-dethrone-nikola-jokic">Doncic is the favorite heading into the 2024-25 season</a>.</p><p>Smart said Doncic has “demanded” the league. The Grizzlies guard also explained how he played against a “16-year-old” Doncic, so Smart has truly seen Luka’s progression over the years.</p><p>“Oh man, just the way he’s came and demanded the league,” Smart said. “I actually had the opportunity to play against Luka when he was 16. We went to Milan and he was on the Milan team. You know, at the time, you see him, he’s a 16-year-old kid. Doesn’t look how he looks now. You see him now, it’s like that’s not the same 16-year-old kid. But Luka is a great player, we all know that. We all know what he has been doing and can do in this league. His progression… He’s taking even bigger steps.”</p><h2><b>Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving looking to lead Mavericks to championship</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Luka-Doncic-and-Kyrie-Irving-celebrate-during-2024-NBA-playoffs.jpg"><figcaption>Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Doncic and Irving are one of the best duos in the entire NBA. They have a legitimate argument to be referred to as the best duo in the entire league. Winning a championship would go a long way toward earning that title, though.</p><p>The Mavericks have high expectations for the upcoming 2024-25 campaign. Dallas added Klay Thompson and upgraded the roster depth around the stars. The Mavs are fresh off an NBA Finals appearance despite finishing as the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference last year.</p><p>Dallas should be able to take a step forward and finish with a better record in the regular season. As a result, the Mavs could end up being a top three seed in the West, which would obviously benefit a potential NBA Finals run.</p><p>At the moment, Doncic, Irving and the Mavericks are focused on the NBA preseason and preparing for the new season.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Mavericks’ Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving get championship truth bombs from Marcus Smart

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/grizzlies-news-marcus-smart-trade-rumors-scotty-pippen-jr-backup-pg');   ga('set', 'title', 'Grizzlies’ Marcus Smart trade rumors suggest Scotty Pippen Jr. seizing backup PG role');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Grizzlies-Marcus-Smart-trade-rumors-suggest-Scotty-Pippen-Jr.-seizing-backup-PG-role.jpg"></figure><h1>Grizzlies’ Marcus Smart trade rumors suggest Scotty Pippen Jr. seizing backup PG role</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-05T12:50:47-07:00">October 5th, 12:50pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-05T12:52:38-07:00">October 5th, 12:52pm</time><address><a>Chris Dodson</a>Chris Dodson is a New Orleans Pelicans beat reporter for ClutchPoints. He has covered Louisiana high school and college basketball in spurts for over a decade. A basketball lifer from the bayou, his gumbo-stirring form matches his elbow jumper celebrations. Fast enough for varsity hoops, tall enough for a soccer scholarship. He has words and will travel, just not on the court.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/grizzlies-news-derrick-rose-waived-before-training-camp">Memphis Grizzlies releasing Derrick Rose</a> led to a shocking retirement going by everyone’s reactions at Media Day. Players, staff, and executives who grew up as fans learned of the news on social media without warning. The front office and coaches had already flipped to filling those backup point guard shoes, though, mainly with some in-house talent. Marcus Smart was asked about moving over to the spot during Grizzlies Media Day while Scotty Pippen Jr. was fielding questions about winning the job outright.</p><p>Well, there are plenty of storylines coming out of Grizzlies training camp. The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/grizzlies-zach-edey-promises-surprises-critics-who-didnt-watch-purdue">Grizzlies’ gamble on Zach Edey’s footwork</a> has been front and center. Some <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-knicks-interested-in-marcus-smart-trade">new Marcus Smart trade rumors</a> suggest Pippen Jr. is seizing the backup point guard role.</p><p>Grizzlies general manager Zach Kleiman suggested that has always <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daNazOG_YWc" rel="noopener">been part of the plan</a> during Media Day.</p><p>“We’ll see where things shake out, in terms of who’s in what role as we kick the season off,” explained Kleiman. “But Scotty is someone who we have real confidence in playing a role.”</p><p>Pippen Jr. is trying to pick brains but also <a href="https://x.com/DoingItDodson/status/1842638246548746687" rel="noopener">blaze his own path</a> as a pro, as told to ClutchPoints.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Scotty Pippen Jr. impressive during Grizzlies training camp. </p><p>Marcus Smart back in the trade rumors. </p><p>Asked Pippen Jr. about filling Derrick Rose’s shoes this season.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Grizzlies?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Grizzlies</a> <a href="https://t.co/vFsrGQmEyX">pic.twitter.com/vFsrGQmEyX</a></p><p>— Dodson, Chris Dodson (@DoingItDodson) <a href="https://twitter.com/DoingItDodson/status/1842638246548746687?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 5, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“Growing up I used to always go to Chicago Bulls games and was around Derrick as a kid,” Pippen Jr. continued. “I feel I’ve been seeing him since I was 10 years old so that was a surreal feeling to play with him on the roster last season. I definitely talked to him after I heard the news of his retirement. I wouldn’t say ‘filling his shoes’ or anything like that. I don’t really look at it that way.”</p><p>He clearly understood the pathway to NBA playing time coming out of Vanderbilt University. Pippen Jr. made 2k25 Las Vegas Summer League First-Team and was an MVP snub by some accounts. Putting up 21.5 points, 8.7 assists, 5.0 rebounds, and 3.3 steals to get into the MVP conversation was just the next step in an upward development trajectory.</p><p>Pippen Jr. also told ClutchPoints it’s been <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vxdczkTe5I" rel="noopener">all grit and grind</a> this offseason with very little time for vacations.</p><p>“I appreciate you saying I got snubbed (for MVP) but I’ve been just been building on that,” Pippen Jr. laughed. “I think I had a good Summer League. Even leading up to that, just finishing off last season as well. The core of me, (GG Jackson), (Jake Laravia), we grinded out the whole summer being in Memphis. Following Summer League we’ve all been here as well. Just working on getting better and leading, working towards the season.”</p><p>The Grizzlies got good value from the two-way deal to wind down last season. Pippen Jr. took a couple of weeks to adjust, sure. He still posted a two-week, six-game stretch of 19.2 points, six assists, four rebounds, and almost three steals in 30 minutes per game. The 3.7 turnovers are a problem easily fixed by giving the ball back to Ja Morant for most of that time. Pippen Jr.’s future relies more on the 33.3% from beyond the arc in that six-game stretch being the floor and not the ceiling.</p><h2><b>Grizzlies getting Scotty Pippen Jr. situated for success</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Scotty-Pippen-Jr.-dishes-an-assist.jpg"><figcaption>Mandatory Credit: Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Pippen Jr. got into 21 games (16 starts) for an injury-ravaged Grizzlies group last season. The 23-year-old averaged 12.9 points, 3.2 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 1.7 steals in just over 25 minutes per night while shooting 49.3% from the field and 41.7% from three-point range. That got Pippen Jr. and the Grizzlies brass thinking about a bigger role on a two-way contract.</p><p>“I’ve been talking with Zach (Kleiman) a lot, coach Taylor (Jenkins). They’ve been pretty transparent with me about steps of going forward,” Pippen Jr. shared. “There’s definitely a path for me to get that roster spot, so I’m just trying to go out there during training camp, just compete, and do whatever I can to get that spot.”</p><p>It sounds like a good preseason would seal the deal. If all goes well, Pippen Jr. could plan on checking into the game as the lead table setter for a Western Conference contender. That clarity would go a long way to helping Pippen Jr. feel like a bigger part of the Ja Morant-led team.</p><p>“I feel like previously in my last two years, I didn’t really feel like I was, you know, kind of a part of the team,” admitted Pippen Jr. “I feel like this year I have something to play for or something to be excited about. Whether it’s the roster spot or just playing for a team that believes in me and my teammates, trust me regardless I’m just happy to be here.”</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Grizzlies’ Marcus Smart trade rumors suggest Scotty Pippen Jr. seizing backup PG role

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-knicks-interested-in-marcus-smart-trade');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Knicks interested in Marcus Smart trade');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/NBA-rumors-Knicks-interested-in-Marcus-Smart-trade.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Knicks interested in Marcus Smart trade</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-04T19:37:25-07:00">October 4th, 7:37pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-05T14:54:02-07:00">October 5th, 2:54pm</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The New York Knicks, encouraged by the progress they’ve made as a franchise over the past two seasons thanks in large part to the emergence of Jalen Brunson as a legitimate MVP candidate, have decided to go all-in this offseason.</p><p>They traded away a boatload of draft capital to bring Mikal Bridges in, and then last week, they pulled off a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/76ers-news-paul-george-jokingly-blasts-terrible-karl-anthony-towns-knicks-trade">stunning blockbuster trade</a> for Karl-Anthony Towns. But the Knicks may not be done making moves quite yet.</p><p>With whatever trade assets they have left, the Knicks have reportedly had “internal discussions” about a potential trade for Memphis Grizzlies guard Marcus Smart, per Kris Pursiainen of Ballislife. The Knicks reportedly have had “rumored interest” in trading for Smart in the past but <a href="https://x.com/krispursiainen/status/1842375514981359665" rel="noopener">“no deal is imminent”</a>, according to Pursiainen.</p><p>Now, Smart should not cost too big of a price in a prospective trade, but it should still take at least a first-round pick to at least make the Grizzlies think about dealing away the veteran guard. However, at this point, it seems as though all the Knicks can offer in a potential trade are a paperclip and piece of twine.</p><p>The Knicks owe the Brooklyn Nets nearly all of their first-round picks until 2029, and the Nets also hold swap rights over their 2028 first-rounder.</p><p>All the Knicks can trade at the moment in terms of draft capital is a heavily protected Washington Wizards first-round pick as well as swap rights over their 2026 and 2030 first-round picks. Will a combination of those assets be enough to sway the Grizzlies?</p><p>And then there’s the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/knicks-news-how-new-yorks-creativity-with-mikal-bridges-trade-enabled-karl-anthony-towns-deal">matter of matching salaries</a> as well. As a team that is operating above the first luxury tax apron, the Knicks cannot receive more salary than they give out in any trade. Thus, matching Smart’s $20.2 million salary for this season will be a pain.</p><p>Combining Mitchell Robinson and Precious Achiuwa gets the Knicks to that number, but that may not be such an enticing proposition to them considering their lack of depth across multiple positions.</p><p>The Knicks will have to hope that they hit on some of their lower-end moves, such as bringing in Chuma Okeke and TJ Warren on training-camp deals before they entertain the idea of gutting the team’s depth even further.</p><h2><b>A potential Knicks trade for Marcus Smart may be a pipe dream</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Ja-Morant-celebrates-from-the-bench.jpg"></figure><p>In addition to all the reasons outlined above, it will be additionally difficult for the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/celtics-news-marcus-smart-breaks-silence-boston-winning-title-without-him">Knicks to trade for Marcus Smart</a> simply because the Grizzlies will be looking to contend for this upcoming season.</p><p>They brought Smart in last offseason to bolster their perimeter defense following the departure of Dillon Brooks, and Smart brings plenty of winning intangibles that simply did not get a chance to manifest due to the team’s massive injury problems.</p><p>Regardless, the 2024-25 season promises a new beginning for the Grizzlies. Smart is likely to start in their backcourt alongside Ja Morant with Desmond Bane sliding up to the three. The Grizzlies could then stagger the minutes of Morant and Smart to make sure that one of their top playmakers is on the court at all times.</p><p>For the Knicks, they have Miles McBride and Cameron Payne as guard depth anyway, so it’s not as if trading for Smart is an urgent order of business. McBride, in particular, established himself as a legitimate rotation piece for the team last season.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Marcus Smart

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NBA rumors: Knicks interested in Marcus Smart trade

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