Ty Jerome Compares Isaiah Stewart’s Grizzlies Impact to Draymond Green

Isaiah Stewart scored 14 points in the Memphis Grizzlies' 135-134 overtime loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on Nov. 2, the game that ended Memphis' 6-0 start.

Ty Jerome talked about Stewart the next day on Matt Barnes' "All the Smoke Unplugged."

The Detroit Pistons traded Stewart to Memphis on June 24, during the second round of the 2026 NBA Draft. Detroit got three future second-round picks, in 2029, 2031, and 2032. Stewart, the 16th overall pick in 2020, had spent all six of his NBA seasons with the Pistons.

Stewart averaged 10.0 points on 55% shooting, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks off the bench last season for a Pistons team that won 60 games. He finished seventh in Sixth Man of the Year voting. He is making $15 million this season, and the 2027-28 season is a team option.

Jerome said Stewart gives Memphis what Draymond Green gave the Golden State team Jerome played on in 2022-23.

"He's huge, man. He's our leader, like by example," Jerome said. "It's like that kind of piece everyone needs. Like [at] Golden State, it's that Draymond thing that we talked about. Like you keep every bit of that, where like you're not gonna get [punked], and that's half of basketball."

"I think we took our first loss last night, but we finally lost the rebounding battle," Jerome continued. "But until then, we hadn't lost that. ... I [give] credit to him."

The Pelicans grabbed 14 offensive rebounds against Memphis and scored 22 second-chance points. The Grizzlies had 11 offensive boards and 9 second-chance points, and New Orleans took 101 shots to Memphis' 91.

Saddiq Bey's offensive rebound with 9.4 seconds left in overtime led to the two Jeremiah Fears free throws that decided it.

Jaylen Wells counted rebounding among the identity things that had not shown up through the first six games.

"I think it shows our fight," Wells said. "I think we should have never been in that position to begin with. A lot of just identity things that haven't shown through the first six games, or five games, that should've just never happened this game. Rebounding, things like that. But obviously we didn't give up, kept fighting. So there's the good and the bad with that."

With Stewart behind him, Jerome feels free to talk on the court.

"Confidence, like you know he's behind you every night," Jerome explained. "It frees you up to talk some [trash] and be real free out there."

Stewart sprained his left ankle in the first quarter of the Grizzlies' preseason opener in Atlanta. Memphis called the sprain moderate and said he would be reevaluated in two weeks.

He missed the Oct. 21 opener against Utah and made his Memphis debut two nights later at Golden State. Across seven games, he averaged 11.9 points on 66.7% shooting in 18.3 minutes.

Stewart left Wednesday's 107-103 loss to the Indiana Pacers with a right knee bone bruise. He sat out Friday's 128-97 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, and Grizzlies coach Tuomas Iisalo said Thursday that Stewart looked like he had avoided anything major.

Memphis' rookies include Cameron Boozer, the third overall pick, and Karim López, the No. 21 pick. Stewart told them before a recent road game that he had a surprise for them afterward.

"Big fella Isaiah Stewart handles that," Jerome said. "They don't say no to him, so he handles that."

"He hasn't made nothing crazy yet," Jerome added. "The other game we were on the road, before the game, he was like, 'I got a surprise for you guys after the game,' and they were all scared. [They're] super scared. Before the game, you [tell the] guys this, and after the game, you give them all like a pink backpack. So he hasn't been nothing crazy, but it's just like it's the nice stuff, man."

Memphis has lost three straight since the 6-0 start and plays at Toronto on Monday, with tip-off at 6:30 p.m. CT.