Upon coming into the draft final week, Memphis’ grizzly greeks have been in search of a flexible wing that might produce at each ends of the bottom. They appear to have obtained simply that after they chosen WSU striker Cedric Coward with the eleventh general.
The Coward draft inventory elevated after a formidable efficiency on the NBA mixture in Could. Final season with the cougars (it must be famous that it was solely a pattern measurement of seven video games), he posted a powerful pictures blocking capability, good international defensive instincts and in addition fired 40% past the arc. This mix led some scouts to counsel that Coward might adapt to the mildew of a standard participant sort “Three and D” within the NBA. The general imaginative and prescient of passage can also be a coward drive, and it could possibly be helpful by taking part in alongside guys like Ja Morant and Zach Edey.
Given the log-jam that Grizzlies now have in Wing, nobody can say with certainty what would be the precise position of coward this coming season. The previous star of Washington State, Jaylen Wells, who will return from an damage, is virtually a lock for the beginning coaching. The veteran goalkeeper Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, whom they’ve acquired in a enterprise with Orlando, may even see lots of soil. GG Jackson and Cam Spencer’s returners are additionally more likely to play a task this yr.
That stated, the truth that the Grizzlies exchanged to write down Coward means that they’ve an affinity for its model of play, which makes it extra doubtless that it might have an instantaneous affect. It’s completely potential that Mephis performs a wing rotation primarily with three males made up of wells, Coward and Caldwell-Pope. Even when he would not begin straight away, Coward could possibly be the subsequent man when KCP, 32, heads for the bench.