Monday marked the NBA’s official media day, when teams across the league brought players and staff together to answer questions from media members who cover the league. This annual event signals the end of the offseason and the start of the preseason, and happens just before training camp begins.
The vibes this year are a mix of first-day-of-school excitement and the incoming class answering questions about how they spent their summer break. Fitting for a rebuilding team with lots of new additions to the roster.
Media Day is often the first time new draft picks and offseason acquisitions are made available to answer questions from the media, and in this case, it coincides with the release of the official training camp roster.
Per the press release from the team’s communications department, the Grizzlies will have a 21-man roster competing for a maximum of 15 rotation spots, and three additional spots for players on two-way contracts, who should spend most of the season playing for the Hustle, Memphis’ G League affiliate team.
It will be interesting to see how Coach Tuomas Iisalo whittles down the roster by opening night. What does Iisalo’s system look like when he has a chance to shape it with a more settled (and healthier) group of players?
This season will be the closest thing to a complete team rebuild for the franchise since the end of the Grit and Grind era/start of the GrzNxtGen era in 2018, so expectations for what this team can achieve should be viewed through that lens.
What’s new and who’s who this season.
Before we get into the new arrivals, I want to acknowledge the absence of big man Brandon Clarke, who tragically and unexpectedly passed away in mid-May. It would be an understatement to say he will be missed.
The organization is honoring Clarke this season with a BC jersey patch on uniforms.
A defining narrative for the Grizzlies heading into the 2026-27 season is that they are a team with a new young core forging its identity and ushering in a new era following the departures of Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr., along with several ancillary players.
Also, with Morant’s departure, another question is who will win the battle for the starting point guard role. There are six guards on the training camp roster, a number that will almost certainly be reduced before the season starts.
Many new faces will join the team.
Jerami Grant and Isaiah Stewart are two veterans Memphis added this summer, and they will join Ty Jerome as the oldest players on the roster, trying to instill good habits in the rest of this very green team.
Expect an emphasis on forward Cameron Boozer, who the Grizzlies selected third in the 2026 NBA Draft. Boozer will be joining sophomore wing Cedric Coward and big man Zach Edey.
Presumably, the starting lineup will include some combination of these three players, but it is anyone’s guess for who can occupy the last two spots. Training camp and preseason games should bring more clarity on who suits up where on opening night.
The Grizzlies need to answer some important questions about the sort of team they want to be, going forward in the post-Ja Morant era.
What is discussed in media availability needs to match what the team is demonstrating on the court; it should be reflected in their style of play. That work begins now — a new leader will have to emerge among the players, and Coach Iisalo will need to decide who to rely on in late-game situations.
But as far as putting their stamp on it, it will be incumbent on the players to craft a new team identity and then lean into it with humility.
The last thing this fledgling Grizzlies team needs is a new “we’re fine in the West” moment.
