The Memphis Grizzlies have a young core worth protecting. Karim Lopez, Zach Edey and Cameron Boozer stand out as three players who should be untouchable in 2026-27.
The Memphis Grizzlies have an intriguing group of talented young players, but only three players should be untouchable in 2026-27.
At least, that's one writer's opinion. There may be players who you, the reader, would never trade, and they aren't on this list.
There's a lot of subjectivity involved in these discussions. The meaning of "untouchable" is vacuous in itself. Arguably, there can only be one untouchable player in the NBA - the one player who every team would trade any other player for.*
*Yes, it's Victor Wembanyama.
None of these players meet that threshold. When we say "untouchable" in this context, it means a player who it wouldn't be worth moving at market value.
Barring an unreasonable offer, none of these three Grizzlies are going anywhere.
Karim López
Spoiler alert: López won't be the only rookie on this list.
You know who the other one is. Still, trading López would also be illogical. The Grizzlies did some draft-day maneuvering to bring him into the fold. Why give up on him before you know what he's capable of?
It hardly even matters how López performs as a rookie. At 19, he has ample room to improve. The Grizzlies clearly saw the potential in a smart, versatile wing who can shoot, defend, and pass.
So, it's highly unlikely that they'll give up on that potential so early.
Zach Edey
There's little sense in looking at Edey's 2025-26 stats - he only played in 11 games. Let's look at some numbers from 2024-25.
Two seasons ago, Edey scored 1.46 Points Per Possession (PPP) as a roll man in pick-and-roll sets. That was in the 95.7th percentile. Fine - we'll do a stat from last year. The Grizzlies were, per DataBallr, +18.9 with Edey on the floor in his eleven games.
Edey's size makes him a cheat code. He's the biggest man in the league. If he gets hurt again this year, the narrative will change dramatically - he'll be on trade watch.
For now, it makes far more sense to give him one more season to show what he's got.
Cameron Boozer
This one might be brief.
There is no universe in which the Grizzlies move Boozer this year. It is not happening. Whatever the gambling odds are, do not take them. Bet a dollar on this outcome, and you've lost one dollar.
This organization is banking on Boozer as their franchise player. He's coming off one of the most statistically impressive seasons in NCAA history. No matter what happens this year, Boozer isn't going anywhere:
He's as close to untouchable as a player could realistically be.
