A former lottery pick went down with an injury that will sideline him for a significant amount of time. According to ESPN, the Memphis Grizzlies announced that Ben Mclemore suffered a Foot injury that will sideline him for 12 Weeks. McLemore underwent surgery to repair a non-displaced fracture of the fifth metatarsal in the right foot. McLemore suffered the injury while he was playing a pickup basketball game in Los Angeles. McLemore accidentally stepped up another player's foot.
What Memphis lost
McLemore spent the last four season with the Sacramento Kings.
He is a career 9.4 point and 2.6 rebound player. Last season, McLemore averaged 8.1 points in 26 starts. This offseason, he signed a two-year, $10.7 million contract with the Grizzlies. Memphis was looking for a player that could provide long range shooting. Despite having a career average of 35.2 percent from three point range, the team believes that they can provide the development the Kings didn't. McLemore never averaged more than 12.1 points in a season, and that was in 2014.
McLemore is just 24 years old and was once thought of being the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2013 after leaving the University of Kansas. The Grizzlies will now need Wayne Selden Jr. to step up. McLemore likely would not have started, but now will need Troy Daniels to be the backup while McLemore heals.
Gamble gone south
The move was a low risk, high reward scenario in Memphis. The Grizzlies were already facing a possible rebuild this season. The Grizzlies lost Zach Randolph and Vince Carter to free agency and have been bounced in the first round of the playoffs the past two seasons. Memphis made the conference finals in the 2012-2013 season before losing to the San Antonio Spurs, but their core is aging.
Marc Gasol and Mike Conley Jr. are on the other side of 30. Chandler Parsons has not lived up to his contract. McLemore may not have been an All Star this season, but he would have provided a potential shooter to help the offense. Now, the Grizzlies have suffered another setback.
Moving forward
The Grizzlies didn't make a lot of acquisitions this past season.
McLemore was the team's best signing. The Grizzlies are running out of time to make a deep run. With their roster, it's unlikely to think that the team is going to dethrone the Warriors, Rockets, or Spurs. Gasol was once linked to trade rumors, and if the Grizzlies start with a bad record, those rumors could resurface.
