One of the most fascinating things to watch during the stretch run of this NBA season will be the bottom of the league standings.
This could be one of the deepest drafts for elite prospects in recent history, but with about 30-35 games left in the season, there is little clarity among the worst teams in the league. Any injuries or trades involving key players for the bottom feeders could have a drastic change on the draft lottery odds and ultimately the draft order.
There was one such move Saturday.
Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace sent an email to season-ticket holders to announce point guard Mike Conley will miss the rest of the season because he is having heel surgery. Conley has been out of the lineup since early November, and the Grizzlies are now all but certain to miss the playoffs after seven consecutive trips in the “Grit and Grind” era. Memphis currently has the sixth-worst record in the league, and Conley’s surgery makes it far less likely the Grizzlies will make any sort of late-season run to jeopardize potential draft position.
This decision to shut down Conley could tangentially affect a lot of teams at the bottom of the standings, much in the same way a potential Hornets fire sale could.
The Knicks (22-28) are 4.5 games out of a playoff spot and in 10th place in the Eastern Conference. The players continue to say all the right things about fighting for a playoff berth, but the reality is they also just seven games ahead of the Hawks, who possess the worst record (14-34).
If the season ended Friday, the Knicks would have the 12th-best odds in the draft lottery. They are also only four games ahead of the Grizzlies.
The tiers of players at the top of this draft class are not quite settled yet, but there are several franchise-changing talents available and another group of really strong prospects slotting in behind them. If the Knicks do decide to trade some rotation players and shift the focus to the future, every spot they “move up” could be critical, and the standings remain so jumbled that sliding into the top-eight or top-six remains a possibility.
It probably got harder for the Knicks, or any of the other teams in the 7-12 range, to catch the Grizzlies now if Conley isn’t going to return. Given he won’t be back, expect the Grizzlies to be a seller as the trade deadline nears, which will further enhance their lottery chances.