Memphis Has a Problem — And Aaron Gordon Might Be the Answer

The Memphis Grizzlies have spent the better part of two seasons trying to figure out what they actually are. Ja Morant is healthy, Jaren Jackson Jr. is a legitimate Defensive Player of the Year candidate, and the supporting cast is... fine. Serviceable. But when the playoffs arrive and the margin for error shrinks to almost nothing, "fine" tends to get exposed in a hurry. That's why the front office's reported interest in Denver Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon deserves more than a passing glance.

Gordon is 30 years old, under contract through 2026-27 at roughly $22 million per season, and has spent the last four years doing the kind of work that doesn't always show up on a box score. He's the guy who guards the other team's best perimeter threat, sets the screen that springs Nikola Jokic, and then somehow ends up at the rim for a put-back dunk before you've processed what just happened. Memphis doesn't have that player right now. They need one badly.

The Defensive Holes Memphis Can't Keep Ignoring

Let's be direct about the problem. The Grizzlies ranked 18th in defensive rating during the 2025-26 regular season — a genuinely surprising number for a team with Jackson anchoring the paint. The issue isn't rim protection. Jackson posted a block rate above 8.5 percent and altered dozens more shots just by existing near the basket. The problem is everything happening 15 to 22 feet from the rim.

Memphis has been consistently torched by wings who can operate in space. Desmond Bane is a willing defender but lacks the lateral quickness to stay in front of elite athletes on the perimeter. Santi Aldama has the length but not the instincts. The Grizzlies gave up the fourth-most points to opposing small forwards this season, and in their first-round exit against Oklahoma City, Jalen Williams averaged 28.4 points on 51 percent shooting while Memphis cycled through four different primary defenders on him without finding a real answer.

Gordon would change that equation immediately. He's been one of the five most versatile defenders in the league for three straight seasons, capable of guarding point guards through centers depending on the possession. His defensive win shares last season sat at 3.1, and his on/off splits in Denver showed the Nuggets allowing 4.8 fewer points per 100 possessions with him on the floor. That's not a role player number. That's a difference-maker number.

What Gordon Actually Brings Offensively

The knock on Gordon has always been that he's a limited offensive creator — and that's fair. He's not going to manufacture his own shot off the dribble against a locked-in defense. His career three-point percentage sits at 36.8 percent, which is functional but not dangerous enough to command serious attention from a defense already worried about Morant and Bane.

But here's the thing: Memphis doesn't need Gordon to create. They need him to do exactly what he does in Denver — cut hard, finish above the rim, and make the right pass when the defense collapses. Morant is one of the best in the league at drawing help and finding cutters. Gordon averaged 4.2 points per game on cuts alone last season, converting at 71 percent around the basket. Pair that with Morant's gravity and you have a combination that defensive coordinators genuinely lose sleep over.

"He doesn't need the ball to impact the game. That's the rarest thing in this league." — Western Conference scout, speaking anonymously to The Athletic, March 2026

There's also the screen-setting element. Gordon set 5.8 ball screens per game in Denver, generating 1.14 points per possession for his teammates on those actions — top 15 in the league among forwards. Morant's pick-and-roll efficiency has always been elite, but he's been working with screeners who either can't pop to the three-point line or can't finish at the rim. Gordon does both, which forces defenses into genuinely uncomfortable decisions.

The Athletic Fit — And Why It Matters More Than People Think

Memphis has built its identity around pace and athleticism since the Grit-and-Grind era gave way to the Morant era. The Grizzlies ranked second in transition points this season and pushed pace aggressively in the halfcourt as well. Gordon's athleticism — he's still one of the better above-the-rim players at his position despite being 30 — fits that template almost perfectly.

• Gordon's sprint speed in transition clocks in at 97th percentile among forwards, per Second Spectrum tracking data
• He averaged 1.8 dunks per game last season, tied for third among non-centers
• His offensive rebounding rate of 6.4 percent would rank first on the current Memphis roster
• He's played 68 or more games in three of the last four seasons — durability that Memphis has struggled to find from its wings

The Grizzlies have had injury problems at the forward position for two years running. Aldama missed 24 games. Jake LaRavia has never fully established himself as a reliable rotation piece. Brandon Clarke, once a promising young big, has been limited to spot minutes. Gordon's combination of durability and two-way impact would give Memphis something they genuinely haven't had since the early days of the Morant era — a third player who can be trusted in a playoff series without significant defensive liability.

The Trade Calculus: Is Denver Actually Moving Him?

This is where things get complicated. Denver is in its own transitional moment. Jokic is still the best player on the planet, but the Nuggets missed the playoffs for the first time in seven years this past spring, and the front office is under pressure to retool around him before his window closes. Gordon has two years left on his deal, and his value as a trade asset is probably as high as it's going to get.

Memphis would likely need to include Aldama and a first-round pick to make the numbers work, and possibly a second piece depending on how motivated Denver is to move Gordon specifically. The Grizzlies have their own first-round picks in 2027 and 2028 — both projected to be in the 18-25 range given their current trajectory — which gives them real currency without gutting the future entirely.

The fit is clean enough that it's worth overpaying slightly. Memphis is in that dangerous middle zone where they're good enough to make the playoffs but not good enough to win a series against the top teams in the West. Oklahoma City, Minnesota, and Golden State all have wings who can make the Grizzlies' defensive limitations look catastrophic in a seven-game series. Gordon doesn't solve every problem, but he addresses the most urgent one.

Whether the front office pulls the trigger before the June 25th trade deadline is another question. But the logic is hard to argue with. Memphis needs a defender who can guard the league's best wings, an athlete who fits their pace, and a veteran who's been in playoff environments that actually matter. Aaron Gordon checks every single box. The Grizzlies would be smart to make the call.