Southwest Division watch: What the Grizzlies’ rebuild means for the West after life without Ja Morant

The Southwest Division has always been a measuring stick for the Western Conference, and the matchup between Memphis and the established powers is changing shape. In a season-by-season sense, the Grizzlies are no longer built around the same kind of urgency that once made them a frequent threat in the West. In a larger, structural sense, Memphis is in a rebuild that has scattered the familiar core and altered how the division could play out.

A key part of that shift, according to Yahoo Sports’ division watch, is that Ja Morant is now “gone” from the team’s future plan, leaving Memphis to answer harder questions about shot creation, pace, and leadership without the player who helped define the club’s recent competitiveness. The article frames the rebuild as more than personnel turnover, describing a spiral that began after a combination of Morant-related turbulence, including injuries and off-court issues, and then compounded by additional front-office fallout.

Memphis’ window to “dethrone” the top teams, as the piece puts it, has also narrowed because of the moves made around its remaining stars. The Yahoo Sports overview points to Jaren Jackson Jr., a long-time pillar of Memphis’ frontcourt, being dealt to Utah. That kind of change typically forces an organization to re-plan its roster construction from the ground up, and it also changes the timeline for when the defense and offensive spacing that fans associate with the Grizzlies can return to form.

The Southwest Division context matters because it affects how other contenders manage their own schedules and postseason positioning. In the same division watch, Yahoo Sports argues that the Warriors have maintained their momentum, stating that Golden State won all three meetings with Memphis last season. If one franchise is stable while another is retooling, that creates a pattern: the rebuilding team may have to win with more variability, while the established team can rely on its continuity to bank crucial division games.

Last season’s results, as described in the preview, underscore the scale of the problem. The article says Memphis finished 25-57, a record that, in its framing, left the team looking “unrecognizable” compared to the Grizzlies that were seen as legitimate contenders as recently as 2023. When a team falls that far, the rebuild tends to be judged in layers, not just by wins and losses, but by whether young players develop into roles that look consistent and repeatable on game film.

For Memphis, the immediate challenge is translating “rebuild” into tangible basketball progress. Yahoo Sports portrays the Grizzlies’ strategy as having leaned toward a tank-like outcome, which can accelerate asset accumulation but also risks prolonged inconsistency if the incoming pieces do not fit together quickly. The division outlook will likely hinge on how Memphis uses this period, whether it can form an identity around defense, whether its offense becomes less dependent on single-game bursts, and whether the young core can grow without another major disruption.