In the last episode from Bill Simmons’ podcastSimmons welcomed TNT analyst Charles Barkley for an in-depth discussion about the NBA, NFL, sports media, his personal future in television, and more.
As usual, the Hall of Famer was engaging, entertaining and quick-witted on many topics. However, on at least one topic, he seems to have missed the memo.
When discussing the upcoming 2024-25 NBA season, Barkley listed the Memphis Grizzlies as a “wild card” team he is monitoring in the Western Conference. His reasoning (Thanks to Chris Gorman on X) proceeded as follows:
If I had to pick a team from the West, it would be Memphis. I think their coach [Taylor Jenkins] This is great. I think Ja [Morant] is a great player, if he can keep his head. They really missed Steven Adams last year, and I hope he comes back healthy.
The problem with this reasoning, of course, is that Adams was exchanged last February At Houston Rocketswhere he will serve as a replacement and defensive complement to the holder Alperen Sengun.
With Adams starting at center, the Grizzlies went 51-31 in the 2022-23 season and finished second in the West standings. However, with numerous injuries and a Morant’s suspension extendedMemphis fell to 27-55 (13th of 15 West teams) last season.
It’s worth noting that Adams’ injury absence (and subsequent trade) wasn’t the only defection from the 2022-23 Grizzlies. Dillon Brooks, who started at power forward at the time, left Memphis to sign with Houston in the 2023 offseason. So between Adams and Brooks, the Rockets currently have two of Memphis’ starting five from the last time the Grizzlies were a good team.
That’s not to say that players like Morant, Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. can’t get by with the supporting cast they currently have. But the absence of established veterans like Brooks and Adams could make it a bit more difficult for the Grizzlies to get back into title contention, though some analysts (like Barkley, it seems) haven’t given it much thought yet.
Simmons-Barkley’s full podcast can be watched or listened to below.
More: Rockets view Tari Eason, Steven Adams as key additions to their 2024-25 roster
This article was originally published on Rockets Wire: Barkley didn’t hear memo about Memphis trading Steven Adams to Houston
