Could E.C. Matthews Make the 2018-2019 Memphis Grizzlies Roster?
On June 26, 2018, it was announced that E.C. Matthews will be playing with the Memphis Grizzlies during Summer League.
Now is the time to evaluate the possibility of Matthews being on the Memphis Grizzlies for the 2018-2019 season.
According to NBA.com, the official website of the NBA, this is the Grizzlies' projected roster for the next season:
At this juncture, it is clear that E.C. Matthews is simply not as talented as Marc Gasol, Mike Conley, or Tyreke Evans (unrestricted free agent) and the Grizzlies will not be parting ways with either of their 2018 NBA draft picks, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Jevon Carter. Meanwhile, it is highly unlikely that Matthews can immediately come in and outmatch the production that MarShon Brooks, Dillon Brooks, and JaMychal Green put forth last season.
Moving forward, there is reason to believe that Memphis will lean on veteran leadership from guys like Chandler Parsons and Mario Chalmers (unrestricted free agent). Next, J.B. Bickerstaff and his coaching staff has some other young talent that they could still hope to blossom, such as Deyonta Davis and Andrew Harrison.
With all of this said, the rest of the roster is completely up in the air. There is a fair chance that the Detroit native outperforms returning players like Kobi Simmons and Wayne Selden in Summer League games. In addition, the Memphis Grizzlies roster has been constructed for 2018 Summer League and there are names that Matthews can easily beat out (as seen below).
Last season, the Grizzlies experimented with the use of 22 different players throughout their 82 games. This season, E.C. Matthews could be one of many players that the Memphis Grizzlies utilize.
For a team that is currently rebuilding and had a terrible season last year, this is one of the best opportunities that Matthews could have landed in.
