Memphis Grizzlies General Manager Zach Kleiman framed the recent trades as a calculated pivot rather than a full teardown, while also addressing the uncertainty surrounding Ja Morant.
Memphis moved Jaren Jackson Jr. to the Utah Jazz for three future first-round picks after dealing Desmond Bane to the Orlando Magic earlier in the offseason for a similar return, signaling a faster transition into a new phase.
Kleiman stressed that the organization is not beginning from nothing and rejected the idea of a prolonged rebuild, pointing to existing assets and young talent already on the roster.
“The good thing about where we are as we kind of turn the page and embark on building with this group going forward, we’re not starting from scratch. There are a lot of teams that choose to embark on rebuilds that have no young players, maybe one young player that they think could fit the next build of their team and have negative first-round capital going forward,” Kleiman said in quotes transcribed by Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian.
Player development will be the priority as Memphis looks to remain competitive while reshaping the roster.
“We’re certainly going to be focused on development. Everything that we’re going to be pushing forward the rest of the season, into next season, it’s about our guys being able to continue to progress and become the players that hopefully can help us achieve those type of outcomes,” Kleiman said.
Kleiman highlighted young players such as Zach Edey, Cedric Coward, Jaylen Wells, Cam Spencer and incoming guard Walter Clayton as fitting the team’s vision, while acknowledging the disappointment of not reaching a higher ceiling with the previous core.
“If you’re turning the page on an era there’s moments that are less fun on the court, certainly, and there’s no one more disappointed than myself that we weren’t able to get over the hump and achieve a higher-level outcome with this iteration of the team,” Kleiman said.
Regarding Morant, Kleiman said discussions are ongoing and emphasized that any decisions are rooted in long-term organizational direction rather than dissatisfaction with the player.
“We’ve been incredibly supportive of Ja for many years and this is about organizational direction, this is not about Ja in particular. I understand that Ja is Ja and there’s more attention I guess kind of paid to that but all of this is grounded in organizational direction and building a team that we believe can achieve the highest levels of success in this league,” Kleiman said.
Zach Kleiman Not Planning Lengthy Rebuild For Grizzlies https://t.co/AkoENOzqcf
— RealGM (@RealGM) February 6, 2026
