Grizzlies release former No. 10 overall draft pick
Today at 08:40 PM
There is an endless amount of promise that goes unfulfilled in professional sports. Former Wisconsin Badgers star Johnny Davis is still only 22 years of age and has time to find his footing in the NBA, but he does not factor in to the Memphis Grizzlies’ long-term plans. The second-place squad in the Western Conference is releasing the No. 10 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, per ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Memphis agreed to a 10-day contract with four-year forward Lamar Stevens on Thursday, and additional roster space was needed to accommodate his arrival. The Grizzlies acquired Davis, Marvin Bagley III and two second-rounders in a three-team trade that sent Marcus Smart to the Washington Wizards. They do not have much patience for projects this season, however, as they set their sights on a championship.
Johnny Davis has not worked out so far, but can he turn things around?
Davis should attract some interest in free agency, according to Charania. He scored 3.5 points per game on 39.7 percent shooting in 112 games for the Wizards and did not log any minutes for the Grizzlies. One is not going to survive long in the modern game if they cannot post a somewhat adequate field goal percentage. He will return to the drawing board and try to hone his shooting stroke in the imminent future.
Johnny Davis came off the bench for the entirety of his freshman campaign with Wisconsin but launched into stardom during the 2021-22 season. He averaged 19.7 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game en route to earning First-Team All-American and Big Ten Player of the Year honors.
Returning to that peak will be difficult, but the right landing spot might afford Davis the playing time and learning curve he needs to become a reliable rotational player. The Grizzlies (36-18) will move forward without him, though. Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr. and the rest of the squad are hoping to finish the season strong and enjoy the franchise’s greatest run yet.
They are coming out of the All-Star break rather sluggish, however, and trail the Indiana Pacers by double-digits at time of print.
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