The Memphis Grizzlies battled their butts off to become the No. 8 seed in this year’s NBA playoffs. Unfortunately, it might all be for naught as the No. 1 seeded Thunder are easily beating Memphis in the opening round. How did The Grizz fall so far from grace after being potential championship contenders? Austin Rivers has a theory.
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Rivers spoke about Memphis’s noticeable team decline on the latest edition of his Off Guard podcast. The former NBA star revealed that there was one thing he immediately noticed when watching the Thunder hand it to the Grizzlies in Game 2. “This is a prime example of why you don’t overreact,” he stated.
What was he getting at? Rivers believed that Grizzlies being reactionary with their roster hurt them in the long run. “I think some of the best teams in the league are a product of not overreacting and not making a move.” The prime example Rivers made was Memphis dealing away Dillon Brooks shortly after his infamous beef with LeBron James in the 2023 playoffs.
Years later and now the Grizzles are clearly missing Brooks, who is killing it for the No. 2 seeded Houston Rockets in the East. Rivers made a strong argument — and NBA legend Dwyane Wade agreed. The Hall of Famer commented on the video and wrote, “Great point,” an endorsement that Rivers really knows his stuff.
Wade agrees with Rivers pic.twitter.com/YtlSoWm8nc
— tragicpatek (@tragicpatek) April 24, 2025
Getting rid of Brooks wasn’t the only blunder by the Grizzlies. They also dealt away Tyus Jones to the Phoenix Suns, another move that Rivers thinks hurt Memphis’s longevity.
Not to mention that the organization fired head coach Taylor Jenkins on March 28 just nine games before the season ended. Jenkins might not necessarily have been the man to take Memphis all the way, but he was far from a problem for them this year.
Reactionary NBA franchises will always be on the losing end of history. It’s a shame because the Grizzlies have one of the most dynamic players in the league in Ja Morant, a DPOY level big man in Jaren Jackson Jr, and a pure shooter in Desmond Bane.
