Kenneth Lofton Jr. is playing like he belongs in the Grizzlies‘ rotation, which may lead to some difficult decisions this fall, writes Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. The second-year power forward, who posted 24 points and 10 rebounds on Wednesday, is the team’s leading scorer in Summer League. He has also looked better on defense, which was a goal for the offseason.
Cole notes that Lofton changed the team’s plans with a strong Summer League performance last year. The undrafted rookie earned a two-way contract that was upgraded to a standard deal before the playoffs as the Grizzlies parted with Kennedy Chandler.
Memphis’ power rotation appears to be set, according to Cole, so any minutes Lofton earns will come at the expense of an established player. Steven Adams and Jaren Jackson Jr. are both expected to be healthy heading into training camp, while Santi Aldama and Xavier Tillman saw regular playing time last season. Coach Taylor Jenkins typically uses four big men, so Lofton will have to battle for a larger role.
There’s more from the Southwest Division:
- Rookie forward GG Jackson has also impressed Jenkins during Summer League, Cole adds in a separate story. Jackson will likely spend most of the upcoming season in the G League, but he has displayed the potential that made him a highly touted prospect coming out of high school. “I’ve been super thrilled with what he’s shown,” Jenkins said. “You see the physical tools with the capability to make plays on both sides of the floor, defensively I’m loving his rebounding. … Each game he is making progress.”
- Summer League coach Jared Dudley believes Olivier-Maxence Prosper could make an immediate impact with the Mavericks, tweets Mavs reporter Grant Afseth. Dudley said the rookie power forward understands the game and can score without having plays called for him. “I could see him easily playing for the Mavs this season just because of his defense and his aggressiveness,” Dudley said. “Anytime I tell him to do something, He does it automatically, and it’s no second-guessing it. He does it a hundred miles an hour, so I respect that.”
- Jabari Smith and Tari Eason only appeared in two Summer League games, but Rockets officials were very happy with what they saw from both second-year players, per Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Smith was one of the best players in Las Vegas with a total of 71 points (35.5 PPG), while Eason averaged 23 PPG and looked comfortable at either forward position.
Lofton is a whole beast & this should come as no surprise to anyone bc all he’s done his entire career (hs/FIBA/college/G-League) is dominate. Some guys just have a natural feel for the game & he’s 1 of em… link to m.youtube.com
Lofton is playing like someone who should’ve been drafted. Funny how biased scouts were towards his body, but I get it.
Chip on shoulder and all that helps too.
Yeah, guys built like Zion are now not viewed as particularly viable. But he’s going to be great if he can stay healthy.
Portland should send a 2nd the Grizzlies way for Lofton. Dame is on his way out and Lofton could slot into the PF position with Grant shifting to SF. Might as well take a chance since Portland is in all likelihood heading for a rebuild.
Why would the Grizzlies do that when he’s still young, capable, and has shown as much as he has? They’d ask for more. I could see with them possibly parting with Aldama because he’s not a great defender, but Lofton looks like he’ll stick for a bit.
Keep Adalma and get rid of zaire, he played like poop all last year
Lmaooo sounds like Portland should’ve drafted Lofton if they wanted him so bad. Lol dont try to use my team to fix the screw up yall got going on
Lofton and Roddy and are going to become known as the Brute Force Brothers. David up high and Kenny down low have been doing good old fashioned enforcement style defense.
Both can carry their share of the scoring and Lofton can handle some of the primary ball handling duties as well.
He is a cinch to be a solid contributor +
Jacksons gonna be a stud in 2-3 years
Lofton, regardless of how good he looks (or has looked) in summer league or elsewhere, is going to have an uphill climb to win a spot in MEM’s rotation. There’s never been a good era to be a one position big with horrible measurables, but the current era is the absolute worst. It gets even tougher when you can’t shoot from distance. Significant PT this year would likely take Adams getting hurt again or Brandon Clarke not making it back (not sure what’s expected, as he’s not mentioned), among other things. MEM likes to rotate four bigs, but the 4th (behind JJJ, Adams and Clarke) would be a guy who can hit the 3. It’s why they drafted Aldama and LaRavia.
Lofton’s an OK basketball player, but better at baseball. Monday. He reports the Cincinnati Reds high 8 and I guess he wants. In this NBA contract that when the Grizzlies are eliminated from the playoffs during the regular season. He could leave and go to baseball.
My calculations for the twenty three twenty four season has Grizzlies eliminated by april 3rd
Lofton kinda reminds me of Sean May.