Ball movement will define the Grizzlies in 2026-27 because the franchise’s old emergency button is gone. For years, Memphis could watch a possession unravel, flatten the floor, and hand the problem to Ja Morant. One violent first step could turn a bad possession into two points. If that failed, Jaren Jackson Jr. offered another escape route with his length, touch, and mismatch scoring. Neither player remains in Memphis.
That reality changes the sound and shape of a Grizzlies possession. There will be fewer moments when four players clear a side and wait for brilliance. Instead, cutters have to move, screeners must arrive on time, and the second pass has to come before a defender recovers.
Last season already showed why cosmetic passing will not be enough. NBA.com data had Memphis averaging 27.8 assists per game, good for 10th in the league, while its 112.4 offensive rating ranked 25th. The Grizzlies passed plenty. They just did not consistently move defenses with those passes, and now that distinction matters more than ever.
The Old Offense Moved the Ball Without Always Moving the Defense
A healthy assist total can hide an unhealthy offense, and Memphis proved that last season. The Grizzlies could string together passes around the perimeter, record an assist on a made jumper, and still spend long stretches attacking a defense that never truly broke its shell.
Their 25-57 record reflected larger problems, including injuries. Still, the offensive numbers exposed a clear gap between activity and efficiency. Real ball movement does something harsher to a defense: it forces defenders to abandon comfortable positions and make urgent choices.
A drive should drag the low man toward the restricted area. The next pass should force a wing into a desperate closeout. Then Cam Spencer needs to swing the ball before that closeout becomes a reset, giving the corner shooter a clean look or opening another lane into the paint. That sequence has purpose. Three stationary passes above the break do not.
Without Morant, Memphis can no longer count on one player to manufacture the first crack whenever a set stalls. Jackson’s departure removes another safety valve. The offense now has to create advantages collectively, then keep those advantages alive for two or three actions.
That makes decision speed just as important as passing ability. A young team will naturally make mistakes: one extra dribble can kill a window, while a late swing can turn an open three into a contested one. The 2026-27 Grizzlies will discover quickly that the difference between good ball movement and empty circulation often lasts less than a second.
Losing Morant and Jackson Rewrites the Entire Playbook
The roster reset did not happen around the edges. Memphis traded Ja Morant to Portland on June 29, bringing back Jerami Grant and Kris Murray. Earlier, the organization had already moved Jaren Jackson Jr. to Utah.
Suddenly, the two players who had defined the franchise’s offensive hierarchy were playing elsewhere, and no obvious replacement star stood behind them. There may not need to be one. The more interesting possibility involves Memphis distributing creation across the floor.
Cameron Boozer can facilitate from the frontcourt. Ty Jerome can probe the middle. Spencer can attack rotating defenders, while Cedric Coward makes secondary reads. Zach Edey can force help simply by rolling toward the rim.
Then there is D’Angelo Russell. Memphis acquired Russell from Washington on July 8 as part of a six-team trade, along with additional draft consideration. The deal gives the Grizzlies an experienced pick-and-roll guard without requiring the entire offense to belong to him.
That balance will matter. Russell can organize a possession when the young group gets scattered, but Memphis cannot afford to replace one heliocentric setup with a slower version built around another high-usage guard. His best work may come when he creates the first advantage and immediately releases the ball, because ball movement only works if the first creator trusts the second.
Cameron Boozer Gives Memphis a Different Kind of Offensive Hub
The most important passer on the roster might eventually be a power forward. Memphis selected Cameron Boozer third overall after his dominant freshman season at Duke. His scoring résumé needs little embellishment, but two numbers matter most for this offense: 4.1 assists per game and 39.3% shooting from three. Together, they explain why Memphis can use him as much more than a finisher.
Put Boozer at the elbow and the geometry changes. A defender cannot sag several feet away if Boozer punishes open jumpers. Send pressure toward him, and he has the vision to find a cutter behind the help. Switch a smaller defender onto him, and Memphis can attack the mismatch without stopping everyone else.
That last part matters because the Grizzlies should not force a teenage forward into difficult isolations. Instead, they can run offense through Boozer in areas where his scoring and passing threaten the defense at once.
A handoff with Spencer can flow directly into an Edey screen. Boozer can fake the return pass, take one dribble toward the paint, and hit Coward lifting from the weak-side corner. His pre-draft evaluations repeatedly highlighted the same trait: high-level playmaking from a forward capable of becoming an offensive hub.
That skill gives Memphis something rare during a rebuild. Boozer has the potential to increase everybody else’s involvement rather than reducing it, and good ball movement could accelerate his development. He will still get chances to score, but Memphis does not need every possession to ask a 19-year-old rookie to beat a loaded defense by himself.
D’Angelo Russell Can Start the Action Without Owning It
Russell brings experience this roster badly needs. He has spent more than a decade manipulating pick-and-roll coverages, slowing defenders with hesitations, and finding pocket passes in tight windows. That craft could steady lineups filled with players still learning NBA timing, though his role should come with clear boundaries.
Imagine Russell using an Edey screen near the top of the floor. The opposing center drops while a weak-side defender pinches toward Edey’s roll. Rather than holding the ball for another dribble, Russell hits Boozer at the nail.
Now the defense has a problem. Boozer can attack immediately, fire the ball toward Spencer on the wing, or dump it inside if Edey seals his man. The original pick-and-roll becomes only the first question in a longer examination.
That is the version of Russell Memphis needs. Jerome can play similarly after averaging 5.7 assists in 15 appearances last season, while supplying enough scoring to punish defenders who duck underneath screens. Neither guard has to dominate touches. The better goal is to keep placing the defense in motion until someone misses an assignment.
The Wings Have to Punish the First Rotation
Ball movement falls apart when the receiving player hesitates. That makes Cam Spencer, Cedric Coward, and Jaylen Wells central to the entire concept because their value will often come after the first action draws attention.
Suppose Boozer catches near the elbow and Edey cuts behind him. The low defender steps inside to discourage the pass, so Boozer kicks to Spencer. Spencer cannot hold the ball and survey the building. He needs to shoot, drive the closeout, or whip the ball toward the corner before the defense regains its shape.
Coward faces the same responsibility. Last season, he averaged 13.6 points and 2.8 assists, showing enough secondary creation to handle more than simple catch-and-shoot duty. Those reads can create the frantic closeouts Memphis rarely generated consistently enough last season.
Wells can help without becoming a primary creator because his movement away from the ball matters just as much. He can slide toward open space when a teammate penetrates, cut when a defender turns his head, and relocate along the arc rather than watching the drive. None of those actions looks spectacular alone, but together they determine whether the offense breathes.
Zach Edey Can Create Space Without Standing Outside
Modern spacing does not always require five shooters. Sometimes a 7-foot-3 center sprinting toward the rim creates its own version of space.
Zach Edey played only 11 games last season but averaged 13.6 points and 11.1 rebounds when available. His size gives Memphis an obvious interior target, yet his greatest influence on ball movement may come before he ever receives a pass.
Run Edey into a high screen and let him dive hard. If the weak-side defender stays attached to the corner shooter, Edey has a path toward the rim. If that defender tags the roll, the corner opens. Should another defender rotate down, Memphis gets the next pass along the perimeter. One screen has suddenly forced three different defensive decisions.
Edey also gives cutters room to exploit defenders obsessed with his position. A Boozer-Edey frontcourt combination can attack from opposite directions: Boozer sees the floor, while Edey bends it vertically.
The challenge will arrive when teams clog the paint and dare Memphis to shoot. That makes the roster’s perimeter accuracy crucial. Boozer’s college shooting offers encouragement, while Spencer has already shown comfort operating around the arc. Russell and Jerome also must punish defenders who slide underneath screens.
Ball movement cannot rescue bad spacing forever, but it can create better shots from whatever spacing Memphis has.
The Grizzlies Need Fast Decisions More Than Fast Possessions
Memphis does not need to sprint through every possession. It needs to think quickly, because young teams often mistake pace for speed of thought.
They push after a rebound, arrive in the frontcourt early, then spend 12 seconds dribbling without creating anything. The clock says they played fast, but the defense felt no pressure.
The Grizzlies should chase something more sustainable. Attack before the defense sets when the opportunity exists. If the first lane disappears, flow into the next action immediately. Boozer can trigger a handoff, Edey can flip the screen, and Spencer can cut behind an overplay without forcing the offense into a full reset.
The best ball movement feels almost unfair because the defense keeps solving one problem only to discover another arriving from a different angle. That style also suits a roster without an established elite offensive creator.
Memphis cannot reliably win a nightly contest of difficult shot-making. It can win possessions by forcing opponents to make more decisions than its own players do, because one defensive mistake may be all a connected offense needs.
Memphis Has to Build an Identity Before It Builds Another Star
The Post-Ja Grizzlies will probably endure ugly nights. Boozer will throw ambitious passes into crowded windows. Edey will occasionally clog a driving lane. Russell may hold a pick-and-roll too long, while young wings will miss cuts that look painfully obvious on film the next morning. That is part of the rebuild.
What Memphis cannot waste is the chance to create an identity while expectations remain flexible. The franchise spent years knowing exactly where the ball went when a possession turned desperate. Morant would attack. Jackson could take a mismatch. Everyone understood the hierarchy.
Now that hierarchy has dissolved, which makes ball movement more than an offensive preference for the 2026-27 Grizzlies. It can become the structure that holds an inexperienced roster together while Boozer, Edey, Coward, Wells, and the rest of the young core figure out how good they can become.
Last season’s numbers offer the warning again. Memphis finished 10th in assists but 25th in offensive rating. More passes alone will not fix anything. Better passes might.
The next version of Grizzlies basketball should force defenders into second and third rotations, create shots before the floor resets, and make every player responsible for seeing the next opening. Russell can start the chain. Boozer may eventually become its brain. Edey can distort the back line, while Spencer and Coward punish the scramble.
For years, Memphis possessed the simplest answer in basketball: give Ja Morant the ball and see what happens. That answer is gone, and what replaces it will travel from hand to hand.
READ MORE: Memphis Grizzlies Draft Cameron Boozer To Anchor A Desperate Franchise Reset
FAQs
Q1. Why is ball movement so important for the Grizzlies in 2026-27?
Memphis no longer has Ja Morant or Jaren Jackson Jr. to rescue stagnant possessions. The Grizzlies need several players creating advantages together.
Q2. Who could lead the Grizzlies offense after Ja Morant?
Cameron Boozer could become the offensive hub. D’Angelo Russell and Ty Jerome can also initiate actions and keep the ball moving.
Q3. Why does Cameron Boozer fit the Grizzlies’ new offense?
Boozer averaged 4.1 assists at Duke and shot nearly 40% from three. He can score, pass and create from the frontcourt.
Q4. How can Zach Edey improve Memphis’ ball movement?
Edey’s hard rolls can pull help defenders toward the rim. That pressure can open corner shooters and create another pass around the perimeter.
Q5. Why were Memphis’ 27.8 assists per game not enough last season?
The Grizzlies still ranked 25th in offensive rating. They need passes that force rotations and create cleaner shots, not movement for its own sake.
From local legends to global stages, every game has something worth celebrating.
