The Grizzlies point guard battle starts with a reality Memphis spent seven years avoiding: Ja Morant will not walk through the door. Memphis sent its former franchise cornerstone to Portland on June 29, taking his burst, passing angles and 8.1 assists per game from last season out of Tuomas Iisalo’s offense. What remains is less glamorous and just as important.
Someone has to steer this thing.
Scotty Pippen Jr. can knife into the lane. Ty Jerome can manipulate a pick-and-roll. Cam Spencer stretches a defense before attacking its reaction. Walter Clayton Jr. brings size and downhill force. D’Angelo Russell has seen nearly every coverage an NBA defense can throw at a guard.
None of them plays like Morant. Memphis should not ask them to.
Instead, training camp will force Iisalo to decide which combination can keep possessions organized when the first option disappears. This fight goes well beyond who starts opening night. Memphis must discover who can rescue a dead possession, settle a frantic second unit and put its young core in position to succeed.
Ja Left a Hole Memphis Cannot Fill with One Player
Memphis stumbled to 25-57 last season. Morant appeared in only 20 games, injuries shredded the rotation, and the Grizzlies spent long stretches searching for a reliable offensive rhythm.
Those struggles created an accidental audition.
Pippen handled more possessions when healthy. Spencer evolved from floor spacer into a legitimate secondary creator. Clayton received additional responsibility after arriving from Utah. Jerome flashed startling efficiency before an ankle injury interrupted his season.
Then Memphis traded Morant.
At the time, that move changed every one of those auditions. The question was no longer which guard could survive while Morant rested. Iisalo now has to build an entire hierarchy without the superstar who once bent the floor for everyone around him.
That makes Memphis’ point guard competition unusually messy. Several candidates can perform pieces of the job, but no obvious choice controls every phase.
Picture a road game in Oklahoma City. The Thunder have just buried three transition threes, the building is roaring, and Memphis’ first action gets blown up. Zach Edey’s screen comes late. Jaylen Wells gets chased off the arc. Seven seconds remain.
Who takes the ball and fixes the possession?
Training camp needs to produce that answer.
Pippen Has the Lane If His Feet Cooperate
The most traditional route begins with Scotty Pippen Jr.
Pippen changes direction quickly, attacks a defender’s hip and reaches the paint without needing three actions to create an opening. Once he turns the corner, he can hit a rolling big or whip the ball toward a shooter lifting above the break.
That skill gives Memphis something every functioning offense needs: a guard who can force the defense to move first.
His feet remain the problem.
Pippen underwent a right-big-toe sesamoidectomy in March 2026, five months after having the same procedure on his left foot in October 2025. Memphis expects him back for the 2026-27 season, but two surgeries in such a short span make every hard stop and acceleration worth watching.
He played only 10 games last season, averaging 11.4 points and 4.7 assists.
If his body holds up, Pippen has a real path toward the starting job. His penetration fits beside Edey, Cameron Boozer and Memphis’ young wings because he can create an advantage without swallowing every possession.
Yet camp cannot simply become a medical clearance exercise. Iisalo needs to see whether Pippen can absorb contact, turn the corner and still deliver the second pass after the defense collapses.
If those feet betray him again, another guard offers a completely different tempo.
Jerome Wants to Put Defenders on His Clock
Ty Jerome does not race around Zach Edey’s massive screens. He makes defenders wait on them.
Go under, and Jerome can pull up. Chase over the top, and he changes speeds until the big man commits. Send two defenders, and he uncovers the pass behind them.
Jerome’s injury-shortened 2025-26 season lasted only 15 games, but his production jumped off the page. He averaged 19.7 points and 5.7 assists in 22.6 minutes per game.
The sample was tiny. The craft was obvious.
Iisalo needs more than a guard who can fly downhill. He needs someone capable of salvaging a possession after the first action dies, and Jerome has the patience to let chaos settle before attacking the next opening.
There is a catch. Health has followed him into this competition, too.
An ankle issue helped restrict his season, leaving Memphis with two of its most natural organizers carrying legitimate physical questions into camp. That uncertainty opens the door for two players whose games look less like conventional point guards.
Spencer Turned Shooting Gravity Into Playmaking
Nobody on this roster changed his offensive identity more dramatically last season than Cam Spencer.
Once viewed primarily as a floor spacer, Spencer averaged 11.1 points and 5.6 assists across 72 games. His shooting stayed vicious: 44.9 percent from three, while he committed only 1.3 turnovers per game.
Defenders cannot treat him like a normal initiator.
They already start possessions worried about his jumper. One aggressive closeout can create the advantage another guard might need six dribbles to manufacture.
A pump fake opens the lane. Two dribbles pull the low man toward the ball. Spencer then chooses between Edey diving toward the rim or Wells sliding into open space.
Before long, a player drafted for his shooting had turned that shooting into a playmaking weapon.
His rise changes the Memphis backcourt conversation because he does not need to dominate the ball to control a possession. That matters beside young players who need touches of their own.
The real test comes when the clean reads disappear.
Can Spencer organize a set after a timeout? Can he attack a switch with eight seconds left? When a young lineup starts racing through possessions, can he pull everyone back into shape?
Those situations will tell Iisalo far more than another 4-for-7 night from three.
Clayton Brings Force Where Spencer Brings Finesse
Then comes Walter Clayton Jr., and the pace changes again.
At 6-foot-4, Clayton gives Memphis more size than Pippen and more downhill aggression than most traditional reserve guards. The Grizzlies acquired him from Utah in the February trade that sent Jaren Jackson Jr. to the Jazz, then immediately handed him more responsibility.
His rookie year ended at 7.8 points and 4.0 assists per game overall. Once he reached Memphis, though, his willingness to push the ball and attack before the defense settled made him an intriguing fit for Iisalo.
Speed matters here, but not merely sprinting speed.
Memphis wants decisions before defenders get comfortable. Clayton can grab the ball, cross half court and attack a crooked floor instead of waiting for everyone to stand on the correct piece of hardwood.
That creates cleaner opportunities for Boozer and Edey to run straight into early offense. It also lets Wells and Cedric Coward catch against defenders who have not fully set their matchups.
Now comes the harder part.
Clayton can attack. Camp must prove he can command.
If he cannot, Memphis still has one guard who already knows how to survive ugly NBA possessions.
Russell Is the Veteran Standing Behind Every Mistake
That guard is D’Angelo Russell.
Russell arrived in the July multi-team trade after opting into his $6 million contract for the 2026-27 season. At 30, he owns more NBA experience than every other guard fighting for these minutes.
His limitations are familiar. His long-term place in Memphis remains uncertain. His feel for pick-and-roll basketball, though, can still punish careless competition.
Russell knows how to snake a screen and keep a defender trapped behind his shoulder. He can freeze a dropping center for one extra beat before slipping the ball to a roller. Those tiny hesitations rarely hit highlight reels, yet they can save a bench unit from five ugly minutes.
For Iisalo, that experience provides insurance.
More importantly, Russell gives the younger guards consequences. Pippen, Jerome, Spencer and Clayton cannot assume Memphis will hand them possessions simply because development matters. A former All-Star sits behind them with enough experience to expose every rushed read during camp.
Russell does not have to win the job to shape the race.
He only has to make everyone else earn it.
The Best Answer May Be Two Guards at Once
Trying to manufacture another Morant would send Memphis in the wrong direction.
No one on this roster can replicate his first-step explosion, rim pressure and passing volume. The Grizzlies can still replace those functions by spreading them across several players.
Pippen can collapse the first line of defense. Jerome can dissect a pick-and-roll. Spencer can weaponize his jumper without pounding the ball. Clayton can attack a defense before it gets set. Russell can drag a second unit through ugly half-court possessions.
Those skills can overlap.
A Pippen-Spencer pairing would marry penetration with shooting. Jerome could play beside Clayton and let the younger guard attack tilted defenses. Russell might steady bench groups featuring Boozer or Edey when Memphis needs cleaner entry passes and slower possessions.
That flexibility could become the defining feature of the Grizzlies point guard battle.
Still, committee basketball only works until everyone looks toward somebody else with eight seconds left on the clock.
At some point, one guard has to own the possession.
Camp Will Show Who Iisalo Trusts When the Offense Breaks
The final answer will emerge in moments that never make a preseason box score.
Watch who Iisalo leaves on the floor after three bad possessions. Notice which guard gathers the second unit after Jaylen Wells misses a rotation. Look for the player who demands the ball when Edey’s screen gets switched and the first pass disappears.
That is where Memphis will find its floor general.
The franchise is building a different foundation now. Cameron Boozer carries enormous expectations as a centerpiece of the next era. Zach Edey still offers the size to become an interior anchor.
Meanwhile, Wells, Coward and the rest of Memphis’ young wings need the ball delivered in places where they can attack rather than improvise.
Reliable playmaking makes every piece easier to evaluate.
No one needs to imitate Morant’s highlights. Memphis needs a guard who recognizes when the game starts racing away and knows how to grab it by the collar.
Some nights that may be Pippen. Jerome could provide a steadier hand on others. Spencer’s development may force him into closing lineups, while Clayton and Russell offer completely different solutions.
Camp will turn those theories into possessions.
The defense will blow up the first action. Edey will turn to reset the screen. The clock will bleed toward five.
For the first time in years, Memphis will not automatically know who gets the ball.
Finding that player could become the most important decision the Grizzlies make before opening night.
READ MORE: Portland Acquires Ja Morant as Memphis Finally Pulls the Plug on Its Core
FAQs
Q1. Who will start at point guard for the Memphis Grizzlies?
Memphis has not settled the job. Scotty Pippen Jr., Ty Jerome and Cam Spencer enter camp as the leading candidates.
Q2. Who could replace Ja Morant as the Grizzlies’ main playmaker?
Memphis may use several guards instead of one direct replacement. Pippen, Jerome, Spencer, Walter Clayton Jr. and D’Angelo Russell offer different strengths.
Q3. Is Scotty Pippen Jr. expected to play in the 2026-27 season?
Yes. Memphis expects Pippen to recover after his March 2026 right-toe surgery, though his health will remain important during training camp.
Q4. How good was Cam Spencer for Memphis last season?
Spencer averaged 11.1 points and 5.6 assists while shooting 44.9 percent from three across 72 games.
Q5. What role could D’Angelo Russell have with the Grizzlies?
Russell gives Memphis veteran playmaking and pick-and-roll experience. He can provide insurance while the younger guards compete for larger roles.
From local legends to global stages, every game has something worth celebrating.
