Belmont Hosts Memphis Grizzlies Training Camp

The Memphis Grizzlies took over Belmont’s Crockett Center this week for a three-day training camp led by new head coach Tuomas Iisalo. The team has installed a versatile roster around stars Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr., both two-time NBA all-stars, and will implement a faster-paced offense and aggressive defense this year under Iisalo, a former standout coach in Europe who joined the Grizzlies staff last season. Three weeks from the season opener — and with more than $180 million in payroll on the floor — the Grizzlies closed most of practice to reporters from Tuesday to Thursday. Players described three days of grueling competition. 

“ We all might need an inhaler,” Morant told reporters on Tuesday. “ You know what you need an inhaler for? That tells you everything you need to know about what we’re doing out there.”

Last year, injuries and inconsistency plagued the franchise, which fell sharply in the Western Conference standings in March. The Grizzlies narrowly made the playoffs only to suffer a first-round sweep from eventual champions the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Morant, who missed more than 30 games last season, didn’t watch any more postseason basketball — “I didn’t care for it,” he tells the Scene. He praised his teammates for putting in offseason work and took a playful victory lap at Belmont, a program he took down in back-to-back Ohio Valley Conference tournament finals during his college career at Murray State University.

The Grizzlies have a roster full of promising young talent, highlighted by ascendant center Zach Edey and explosive guard Jaylen Wells, and signed key veteran role players Ty Jerome and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope the offseason. Caldwell-Pope — an NBA journeyman with two NBA championships to his name — joined the team in June as part of a blockbuster trade that sent Desmond Bane, a key Grizzlies playmaker and fan favorite, to the Orlando Magic.

The week was “all basketball,” according to Grizzlies guard John Konchar, though several players spoke about passing connections to Nashville. Konchar spent the summer here and knows his way around the city. Scotty Pippen Jr., whose scoring creation and tenacious defense was a rare bright spot late last season, played three years at Vanderbilt. 

“ Last year, you know, we came out here as well and saw the fan base — I didn’t really know there was that many Grizzly fans here,” Pippen told reporters. “It’s good to be back.” 

Iisalo made it downtown to pay athletic respects to Pekka Rinne, a fellow lanky Finn whose statue stands at the corner of Broadway and Rep. John Lewis Way.

Starting Monday, the new-look Grizzlies face the Detroit Pistons, Boston Celtics, Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat in preseason competition. The New Orleans Pelicans come to Memphis on Oct. 22 to kick off the team’s 82-game season.