NBA Draft 2019: Winners and losers

Winner No. 5: Ja Morant

Things could not have broken much better for Morant over draft week, as Memphis looked like they were already one of the better possible fits for him in the top ten, and then went and tweaked their roster in ways that really compliment what Morant needs to be able to do to succeed. They already had Jaren Jackson Jr., which was a massive positive, as he is about the best young big in the league to latch a young point guard to thanks to his pick-and-roll and pick-and-pop gravity, as well as his already phenomenal defense as an anchor at the 5. The fit with him alone was positive for Morant’s development.

But then the Mike Conley trade happened, and Memphis actually got a pair of good pieces to put around Ja in Jae Crowder and Kyle Korver, two positive role models for the young Murray State product. Korver has turned into a second shooting coach in the twilight of his career, helping Cavs forward Cedi Osman tweak his jumper over the past two seasons while he was in Cleveland. That’s good news for Morant’s jumper, which is definitely a work in progress. Crowder adds a wing who can defend at the point of attack, which helps and the Grizzlies also used another asset from the Conley trade, the 23rd overall pick, to jump up and grab Brandon Clarke of Gonzaga, another phenomenal big man fit. Now Morant has two elite finishing bigs to lob passes to in the pick-and-roll, and both are incredibly useful space defenders, exactly what you want behind a skittish rookie point guard. Throw in the draft assets that the Grizzlies got in the deal, and the future is looking pretty bright in Memphis — most importantly because they’ve put Morant in a great position to succeed.