2019–20 Memphis Grizzlies season
NBA professional basketball team season
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The 2019–20 Memphis Grizzlies season was the 25th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and 19th in Memphis.
| 2019–20 Memphis Grizzlies season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Taylor Jenkins |
| General manager | Jason Wexler |
| Owners | Robert Pera |
| Arena | FedExForum |
| Results | |
| Record | 34–39 (.466) |
| Place | Division: 3rd (Southwest) Conference: 9th (Western) |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
Stats at Basketball Reference | |
| Local media | |
| Television | Fox Sports Tennessee Fox Sports Southeast |
| Radio | WMFS-FM |
After the end of the 2018–19 season, and prior to the beginning of the 2019–20 season, Robert Pera announced a restructuring of the Grizzlies' basketball operations department: "In order to put our team on the path to sustainable success, it was necessary to change our approach to basketball operations".[1]
On April 11, 2019, the Grizzlies fired head coach J. B. Bickerstaff after missing the playoffs.[2] Additionally, general manager Chris Wallace was reallocated to a role exclusively in player scouting. Jason Wexler was announced as team president and Zachary Kleiman was promoted to general manager, as the executive vice president of basketball operations.[3][1]
On May 14, during the 2019 NBA Draft Lottery, the Grizzlies not only kept their first round selection this year, but rose up to the #2 pick in the process. The Grizzlies later found their new head coach on June 11 with Milwaukee Bucks assistant coach Taylor Jenkins.[4] On June 19, 2019, it was announced that longtime point guard Mike Conley would be traded to the Utah Jazz after spending his first 12 years in the league with the Grizzlies.[5] It was for the first time since the 2006–07 season that Conley was not with the Grizzlies.
The Grizzlies selected Ja Morant as the second pick in the 2019 NBA draft, who became their point guard of the future. Morant was named the NBA Rookie of the Year following an impressive first season in Memphis.
The season was suspended by the league officials following the games of March 11[6] after it was reported that Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19.[7] On June 4, the Grizzlies were one of the 22 teams invited to the NBA Bubble. On August 15, they fell to the Portland Trail Blazers in the league's first ever play-in game to end the season.
Draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College/Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Ja Morant | PG |  United States |
Murray State |
The Memphis Grizzlies held a first-round pick for the 2019 NBA Draft that coming into it had possible lottery implications.[8] Before the night of the NBA draft lottery, the Grizzlies risked losing the selection if it fell outside of the top 8 due to a prior trade with the Boston Celtics.[9] However, their sole first-round pick rose up six spots in the draft to go from the already safe #8 selection to the second overall pick of the draft.[10] On the night before the 2019 NBA draft began, the Grizzlies agreed to trade mainstay Mike Conley to the Utah Jazz in exchange for Grayson Allen, Jae Crowder, Kyle Korver, a future first-round pick, and the Jazz's first-round pick that year at #23, although the trade would not be completed until July 6 due to salary cap reasons.[11]
With the second pick of the draft, the Grizzlies selected point guard Ja Morant from Murray State University. The Grizzlies also received Canadian power forward Brandon Clarke after he was selected by the Oklahoma City Thunder out of Gonzaga with the 21st pick and immediately traded to the Grizzlies for the 23rd pick (via the Utah Jazz), and the Grizzlies' 2024 second-round pick.[12][13]
Roster
| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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|
Head coach
Assistant(s)
Legend
Roster |
Standings
Division
| Southwest Division | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y – Houston Rockets | 44 | 28 | .611 | – | 24–12 | 20–16 | 8–5 | 72 |
| x – Dallas Mavericks | 43 | 32 | .573 | 2.5 | 20–18 | 23–14 | 10–4 | 75 |
| pi – Memphis Grizzlies | 34 | 39 | .466 | 10.5 | 20–17 | 14–22 | 4–9 | 73 |
| San Antonio Spurs | 32 | 39 | .451 | 11.5 | 19–15 | 13–24 | 7–6 | 71 |
| New Orleans Pelicans | 30 | 42 | .417 | 14.0 | 15–21 | 15–21 | 4–9 | 72 |
Conference
| Western Conference | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | GP |
| 1 | c – Los Angeles Lakers * | 52 | 19 | .732 | – | 71 |
| 2 | x – Los Angeles Clippers | 49 | 23 | .681 | 3.5 | 72 |
| 3 | y – Denver Nuggets * | 46 | 27 | .630 | 7.0 | 73 |
| 4 | y – Houston Rockets * | 44 | 28 | .611 | 8.5 | 72 |
| 5 | x – Oklahoma City Thunder | 44 | 28 | .611 | 8.5 | 72 |
| 6 | x – Utah Jazz | 44 | 28 | .611 | 8.5 | 72 |
| 7 | x – Dallas Mavericks | 43 | 32 | .573 | 11.0 | 75 |
| 8 | x – Portland Trail Blazers | 35 | 39 | .473 | 18.5 | 74 |
| 9 | pi – Memphis Grizzlies | 34 | 39 | .466 | 19.0 | 73 |
| 10 | Phoenix Suns | 34 | 39 | .466 | 19.0 | 73 |
| 11 | San Antonio Spurs | 32 | 39 | .451 | 20.0 | 71 |
| 12 | Sacramento Kings | 31 | 41 | .431 | 21.5 | 72 |
| 13 | New Orleans Pelicans | 30 | 42 | .417 | 22.5 | 72 |
| 14 | Minnesota Timberwolves | 19 | 45 | .297 | 29.5 | 64 |
| 15 | Golden State Warriors | 15 | 50 | .231 | 34.0 | 65 |
Game log
Preseason
| 2019 preseason game log Total: 3–2 (Home: 2–1; Road: 1–1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Preseason: 3–2 (home: 2–1; road: 1–1)
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| 2019–20 season schedule | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Regular season
Play-in
| 2020 play-in game log | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Play-in Game: 0–1 (home: 0–0; road: 0–1)
| ||||||||||||||||||
| 2020 playoff schedule | ||||||||||||||||||
Player statistics
Ragular season
| Player | POS | GP | GS | MP | REB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS | MPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dillon Brooks | SG | 73 | 73 | 2,112 | 243 | 150 | 63 | 27 | 1,181 | 28.9 | 3.3 | 2.1 | .9 | .4 | 16.2 |
| Jonas Valančiūnas | C | 70 | 70 | 1,845 | 788 | 131 | 30 | 76 | 1,044 | 26.4 | 11.3 | 1.9 | .4 | 1.1 | 14.9 |
| Ja Morant | PG | 67 | 67 | 2,074 | 259 | 488 | 58 | 18 | 1,193 | 31.0 | 3.9 | 7.3 | .9 | .3 | 17.8 |
| Kyle Anderson | SF | 67 | 28 | 1,330 | 285 | 162 | 54 | 37 | 390 | 19.9 | 4.3 | 2.4 | .8 | .6 | 5.8 |
| Tyus Jones | PG | 65 | 6 | 1,232 | 103 | 285 | 59 | 6 | 484 | 19.0 | 1.6 | 4.4 | .9 | .1 | 7.4 |
| De'Anthony Melton | PG | 60 | 8 | 1,167 | 220 | 175 | 77 | 20 | 455 | 19.5 | 3.7 | 2.9 | 1.3 | .3 | 7.6 |
| Brandon Clarke | PF | 58 | 4 | 1,300 | 345 | 81 | 32 | 48 | 700 | 22.4 | 5.9 | 1.4 | .6 | .8 | 12.1 |
| Jaren Jackson Jr. | C | 57 | 57 | 1,622 | 262 | 78 | 40 | 92 | 990 | 28.5 | 4.6 | 1.4 | .7 | 1.6 | 17.4 |
| Solomon Hill† | PF | 48 | 3 | 901 | 144 | 94 | 31 | 7 | 274 | 18.8 | 3.0 | 2.0 | .6 | .1 | 5.7 |
| Jae Crowder† | SF | 45 | 45 | 1,322 | 277 | 125 | 47 | 14 | 447 | 29.4 | 6.2 | 2.8 | 1.0 | .3 | 9.9 |
| Marko Gudurić | SG | 44 | 0 | 484 | 73 | 45 | 12 | 8 | 173 | 11.0 | 1.7 | 1.0 | .3 | .2 | 3.9 |
| Grayson Allen | SG | 38 | 0 | 718 | 85 | 52 | 10 | 2 | 330 | 18.9 | 2.2 | 1.4 | .3 | .1 | 8.7 |
| Josh Jackson | SF | 22 | 0 | 381 | 66 | 35 | 18 | 9 | 198 | 17.3 | 3.0 | 1.6 | .8 | .4 | 9.0 |
| Bruno Caboclo† | C | 22 | 0 | 192 | 44 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 62 | 8.7 | 2.0 | .5 | .5 | .5 | 2.8 |
| John Konchar | SG | 19 | 0 | 181 | 47 | 22 | 7 | 3 | 54 | 9.5 | 2.5 | 1.2 | .4 | .2 | 2.8 |
| Yuta Watanabe | SF | 18 | 0 | 105 | 20 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 36 | 5.8 | 1.1 | .3 | .3 | .1 | 2.0 |
| Gorgui Dieng† | C | 17 | 0 | 318 | 98 | 15 | 14 | 17 | 123 | 18.7 | 5.8 | .9 | .8 | 1.0 | 7.2 |
| Anthony Tolliver† | PF | 13 | 4 | 236 | 33 | 10 | 7 | 1 | 62 | 18.2 | 2.5 | .8 | .5 | .1 | 4.8 |
| Jarrod Uthoff† | PF | 4 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3.5 | .3 | .0 | .3 | .0 | 1.0 |
| Jordan Bell† | C | 2 | 0 | 21 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 10.5 | 1.5 | 1.0 | .5 | .0 | 5.0 |
| Dusty Hannahs | SG | 2 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 6.5 | .5 | .0 | .0 | .0 | 6.0 |
- † Denotes player spent time with another team in the season. Stats reflect time with the Grizzlies only.
Transactions
Trades
| July 6 | To Memphis Grizzlies
|
To Utah Jazz |
[14][15] |
| To Memphis Grizzlies |
To Washington Wizards |
[16] | |
To Memphis Grizzlies
|
To Oklahoma City Thunder
|
[17] | |
| July 7 | To Memphis Grizzlies
|
To Phoenix Suns |
[18] |
To Memphis Grizzlies
|
To Golden State Warriors |
[19] | |
| To Memphis Grizzlies |
To Atlanta Hawks |
[20] | |
| July 8 | To Memphis Grizzlies
|
To Dallas Mavericks |
[21] |
| February 6 | Three-team trade | [22] | |
To Miami Heat
|
To Memphis Grizzlies
| ||
To Minnesota Timberwolves
| |||
Free agency
Re-signed
| Player | Signed |
|---|---|
| Jonas Valančiūnas[23] | July 11 |
| Dusty Hannahs[24] | October 14 |
Additions
| Player | Signed | Former team |
|---|---|---|
| John Konchar[25] | July 8 | Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons |
| Tyus Jones[26] | July 11 | Minnesota Timberwolves |
| Marko Gudurić[27] | July 31 |  Fenerbahçe Beko |
| Matt Mooney[28] | September 4 | Texas Tech Red Raiders |
| Ahmad Caver[29] | October 15 | Old Dominion Monarchs |
| Jarrod Uthoff[30] | October 16 |  Zenit Saint Petersburg |
| Shaq Buchanan[31] | October 17 | Murray State Racers |
| Bennie Boatwright[32] | October 18 | USC Trojans |
Subtractions
| Player | Reason left | New team |
|---|---|---|
| Jordan Bell[33] | Waived | Capital City Go-Go |
| Avery Bradley[34] | Waived | Los Angeles Lakers |
| Bennie Boatwright[35] | Waived | Memphis Hustle |
| Shaq Buchanan[32] | Waived | Memphis Hustle |
| Ahmad Caver[30] | Waived | Memphis Hustle |
| Tyler Dorsey[36] | UFA |  Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv |
| Dusty Hannahs[29] | Waived | Memphis Hustle |
| Dwight Howard[37] | Waived | Los Angeles Lakers |
| Justin Holiday[38] | UFA | Indiana Pacers |
| Matt Mooney[24] | Waived | Memphis Hustle |
| Joakim Noah | UFA | Los Angeles Clippers |
| Miles Plumlee[35] | Waived |  Zhejiang Lions |
| Ivan Rabb[35] | Waived | New York Knicks |
| Jarrod Uthoff[31] | Waived | Memphis Hustle |
| Tyler Zeller[39] | UFA | Denver Nuggets |