When the whistle blows on day one of Grizzlies training camp, the old Memphis defense will exist only on film. Jaren Jackson Jr. will be in Utah. Ja Morant will be in Portland. The familiar architecture around them is gone, replaced by a roster that looks bigger, stranger, and far less settled.
That leaves Tuomas Iisalo with one immediate question: can this new collection of size actually guard anyone in space? The answer will shape the Grizzlies’ defensive switchability long before opening night.
Memphis can surround Zach Edey with 6-foot-7 wings. It can change gears with the newly acquired Isaiah Stewart at center. Jerami Grant can take big scoring wings, while Jaylen Wells and Cedric Coward chase actions around him. None of that guarantees a functioning defense.
Last season offered the warning. According to NBA.com defensive tracking, Memphis ranked 25th with a 118.4 defensive rating while finishing 25-57. The Grizzlies used 33 players, and only Cam Spencer, Wells, and Coward appeared in more than 55 games. That chaos matters now because Memphis cannot spend another season improvising. The roster has changed, and the defensive rules must change with it.
Memphis Tore Down Its Old Defensive Foundation
Jackson’s February departure did much more than remove a former Defensive Player of the Year from the paint. Memphis sent Jackson, John Konchar, Jock Landale, and Vince Williams Jr. to Utah. In return, the Grizzlies received Walter Clayton Jr., Taylor Hendricks, Kyle Anderson, Georges Niang, and three future first-round picks. The move did not resemble a normal deadline adjustment. It kicked the door open on a total rebuild.
Four months later, Morant left too. Portland acquired the two-time All-Star in June, sending Jerami Grant and Kris Murray to Memphis. Suddenly, every member of the young core that once drove Memphis toward 56 wins in 2021-22 had departed.
The emotional cost is obvious, but the basketball consequence runs deeper. For years, Memphis could funnel mistakes toward Jackson. Guards could chase more aggressively because an elite shot blocker waited behind them. When a switch broke down, Jackson often erased the evidence.
That safety net no longer exists, so the Grizzlies have to prevent breakdowns earlier in possessions. Their defense needs sharper communication, cleaner matchup exchanges, and more variety against pick-and-rolls. Size alone will not solve it. Memphis can throw three long wings at the same possession, but stockpiling length does not automatically create a cohesive scheme.
Zach Edey Should Not Be Asked to Guard Like Isaiah Stewart
The easiest way to wreck this experiment would be treating every Memphis center the same.
Edey stands 7-foot-3 and changes possessions simply by occupying the lane. Ballhandlers see his chest before they see the rim. Drivers have to finish higher, release floaters earlier, or drag him away from the basket.
That last option will attract every smart offense. Teams will pull Edey into repeated high screens because they want him moving backward, sideways, and eventually onto a guard. Memphis should not help them.
The Grizzlies need to build Edey’s coverage around his strengths: drop, selective shows, late switches, and aggressive pre-switching from the wings. If Wells sees his man heading toward Edey to set a screen, Memphis can exchange assignments before contact. The wing takes the screener, and Edey stays closer to the paint.
That sounds minor on a whiteboard, but in an NBA possession, it changes everything. A split-second delay against someone like Stephen Curry or Devin Booker produces the same open corner three as completely missing the switch. The solution is not asking Edey to become a 7-foot-3 perimeter stopper. It is keeping him out of that matchup whenever possible.
Health adds another layer. Edey underwent left ankle surgery in March after ongoing discomfort and bone stress, though the franchise said it expects him to make a full recovery before the 2026-27 regular season. Camp should not become an endurance test for his ankles.
Instead, Memphis can spend those weeks drilling repeatable reads around him. Where does the low man rotate? Which wing takes the roller? When does Edey step higher? Who calls the pre-switch? If those answers become automatic, the Grizzlies can protect their biggest defender without hiding him.
The New Memphis Defense Has to Start on the Wing
If Memphis wants real defensive flexibility, the evolution starts with Grant, Wells, and Coward.
Grant gives Iisalo an experienced defender who has spent years taking powerful scorers. Wells can handle more movement-heavy assignments. Coward brings the strength and size to clean up broken possessions or absorb unexpected switches.
That division of labor matters. Grant averaged 18.6 points per game last season, so Memphis cannot ask a 32-year-old forward to fight through every screen and still shoulder a major offensive role. Wells can take many of those chase assignments instead. That leaves Coward free to become the connective tissue when actions twist matchups out of shape.
Picture a common Western Conference possession. A guard calls for a screen, then rejects it. The screener flips the angle and races into another pick near the elbow. Grant changes assignments with Wells. Coward slides toward the nail. Edey drops two steps. One early call keeps all five defenders attached; miss it, and the entire possession opens.
That is where Memphis’ switchability can become a real advantage. The Grizzlies no longer need one wing to handle every difficult job. They can pass elite scorers from one long body to another without immediately giving up a mismatch.
Smaller guards also benefit. Ty Jerome, Scotty Pippen Jr., Walter Clayton Jr., and D’Angelo Russell should not spend entire nights getting dragged into mismatch hunts. Iisalo can surround those guards with two or three larger defenders, then switch away from danger before offenses isolate the weak link. Good switching defenses do not prove they can survive bad matchups. They prevent those matchups from appearing.
Isaiah Stewart Gives Iisalo a Second Defensive Gear
Isaiah Stewart changes the equation. Memphis acquired him from Detroit during the 2026 draft period, sending three second-round picks to the Pistons as part of a larger deal. The newly acquired center now gives Iisalo something he did not have with Edey alone: a frontcourt player built for a more aggressive switching package.
At 6-foot-8 and 250 pounds, Stewart plays lower to the floor than Edey. He can step toward the ball, bump cutters, and survive farther from the rim. His true value appears when the possession forces him to move.
With Stewart at center, Memphis can switch far more actions involving Grant, Wells, Coward, Hendricks, or Cameron Boozer. A guard comes off a screen and sees another strong body waiting rather than a giant center retreating toward the restricted area.
That does not make Stewart flawless. Large centers can punish him inside, and Memphis should not willingly surrender deep post seals against every matchup. Certain opponents, though, will demand mobility more than sheer size.
That gives Iisalo two different answers. Edey lineups can protect the rim first and manipulate switches around him. Stewart groups can flatten actions higher on the floor, switch two through five, and force scorers to beat similar-sized defenders in isolation. The best version of Grizzlies defensive switchability comes from knowing when to use each identity.
Cameron Boozer Should Learn the System Before Carrying It
There will be an urge to throw everything at Cameron Boozer immediately.
Memphis selected the duke star third overall in the 2026 NBA Draft after a freshman season in which he swept the major national player of the year awards. At roughly 6-foot-8 and 253 pounds, he already owns the body to handle NBA contact.
His defensive education will be more complicated. Boozer does not need to spend October proving he can stonewall the league’s fastest guards 30 feet from the basket. That would turn versatility into a gimmick.
He needs rules. Against slower forwards, switch and hold the matchup. When explosive guards attack, flash and recover. If the ballhandler turns the corner, trust the weak-side rotation instead of chasing a highlight block. Those habits can make Boozer useful immediately without pretending he has already seen every NBA action.
Karim Lopez offers another intriguing piece. Memphis acquired the 6-foot-8 forward after he spent two professional seasons with the New Zealand Breakers. Lopez averaged 10.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, and a block per game in his final NBL season, according to the Grizzlies’ draft release.
His length gives Memphis another potential multi-position defender, but his timing will decide whether that potential matters. One late exchange against an elite shooting team can undo 20 seconds of strong defense. That is the lesson every young Memphis forward needs during camp.
Training Camp Must Get Loud
Switching defenses rarely collapse because nobody understands the playbook. They collapse because somebody communicates half a second late.
One defender points. Another hesitates. The screener slips toward the rim. A weak-side wing pinches down. The ball fires to the corner. Three points.
Because those mistakes happen in the margins, Memphis should make communication one of the central competitions of training camp. Every shell drill needs audible calls before contact. Every scrimmage should punish silent possessions, even when the opponent misses.
The rules themselves can stay clean. Wings of similar size switch. Edey stays out of unnecessary guard isolations. Stewart switches more aggressively. Weak-side defenders peel onto rollers when a small guard gets stranded. Late in the shot clock, everyone becomes more willing to exchange because the offense has less time to exploit the mismatch.
Then comes the hardest part: repeating those rules while tired. When an offense runs a second action after the first one fails, Memphis cannot celebrate the initial stop. The best NBA teams attack the moment after a defense thinks the possession is over. That is where communication becomes instinct.
By the final week of camp, Iisalo should know which five-man groups talk naturally and which ones need constant coaching. Those combinations may matter more than preseason shooting percentages.
Memphis Has to Build a Defense That Fits What Comes Next
The Grizzlies cannot recreate the Jackson-Morant years, and they should stop trying.
That team played with a defensive eraser behind aggressive guards. This one has something different: waves of size, multiple frontcourt styles, and young players who could grow into versatile roles together.
Grant brings experience. Wells can take uncomfortable assignments. Coward gives the perimeter another strong body. Hendricks adds length. Stewart brings mobility and force. Edey controls space around the rim in a way nobody else on the roster can replicate. Boozer may eventually tie those pieces together.
For now, the job is simpler. Memphis needs to know which screens to switch, which matchups to protect, and which defender cleans up the possession when the first plan breaks.
That is what defensive switchability actually means. It is not five players automatically exchanging assignments because modern basketball says they should. It is five defenders reading the same action and reaching the same answer before the offense can punish them.
Training camp will expose whether Memphis has reached that point. A guard will snake a screen. Edey will step toward the ball. Wells will feel a cutter behind him. Somewhere on the weak side, a rookie will have to choose between staying home and rotating early. There will be no time for a meeting.
In that moment, the new Memphis defense will either move together or split apart. If Iisalo can make those decisions feel automatic before opening night, the Grizzlies will have found something more valuable than a switching scheme. They will have built the first clear identity of the post-Jaren Jackson, post-Ja Morant era.
READ MORE: Memphis Grizzlies Draft Cameron Boozer To Anchor A Desperate Franchise Reset
FAQs
Q1. How can the Grizzlies improve their defensive switchability?
Memphis can switch more selectively, use pre-switches around Zach Edey, and lean on Isaiah Stewart when it needs more mobility.
Q2. Why shouldn’t Zach Edey switch every pick-and-roll?
Edey makes his biggest defensive impact near the rim. Memphis can protect that strength through drop coverage, selective shows, and pre-switches.
Q3. What does Isaiah Stewart add to the Grizzlies’ defense?
Stewart gives Memphis a smaller, more mobile center who can defend higher on the floor and support more aggressive switching.
Q4. What defensive role could Cameron Boozer play for Memphis?
Boozer can switch onto slower forwards and learn when to flash, recover, or trust weak-side help against quicker guards.
Q5. Why will communication matter in Grizzlies training camp?
Switching breaks down when calls come late. Memphis needs defenders to identify screens, exchanges, and weak-side rotations before the offense creates an opening.
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