Trice looks to move on from poor playoffs

[andrei]

Travis Trice had a decent rookie campaign: 7.8 points, 4.1 assists on 46% shooting is not bad for a still developing defensive specialist low usage PG. But then he faced the Dallas Mavericks in the playoffs and was possibly the worst player on the court with averages of 5 points, 2.4 assists and 30% shooting as his Memphis Grizzlies got annihilated in 5 games.

Can his next season starting prospects get worse?

Turns out – they can as the Grizzlies selected scoring phenom PG Dennis Smith Jr with the 11th pick in the draft.

Was this a message for Trice to get his act together?

He certainly thought so.

‘’Yeah, I am very eager to come back as the starting point guard on the team next year. Even with Dennis coming in.’’ – Trice said.

He is certainly on the right track after his impressive performance in the Summer League.

Trice averaged 21 points while shooting 70% from the field and 73% from downtown in just 23 minutes per game. The competition wasn’t phenomenal sure, but his performance is a great (and badly needed) confidence boost.

‘’My confidence is sky high now. I feel like I can take on any guard, not only defensively, but also run the offense and be a scoring threat. I was reading some reports about me busting etc – that got me down a bit. But the veteran guys on the team told me to block all this stuff out and focus on my game – which I did this offseason. I’m ready to come back in the best shape of my career and make a difference on this team.’’ – Trice added.

It will be interesting to see who will be the Grizzlies starter on opening night.

‘’A lot will depend on their play in Training camp and Pre-season.’’ – Grizzlies GM Andrei Sanzharov said.

[OneNole]

The thing I find funniest about this article is that last year these pg's were all heralded as future stars and now all but 1 is likely a future bench player. I remember when Dennis was talking up trice last year post draft as this next big thing.

Hopefully he can turn it around

[Dennis]

Don't worry too much Brett. I think we all already figured rookies need two seasons to become decent. Also it always depends on if they develop or not. If it comes to PGs I do believe Taylor, Teodosic, Trice and Michineau all will become starter. Lo has still a way to go. 5 potential starting PGs isn't bad.

[GreenBear]

I played Taylor strictly as a SG in his rookie year (partly because Bledsoe was already here, but mostly because of his poor passing rating), but maybe I'll try him out as a PG some just to see how it would go.

[GreenBear]

I did think Trice, Michineau, Cousins, and Whitehead all would become at least quality starting PGs during the draft(not even counting Teodosic, who was pretty much a sure thing). Similarly to Taylor, I had Lo marked down as more of a SG (but could be wrong there). Still too early to determine one way or the other for them, as there's developing that still needs to be done.

[hardenwithnod]

If I am not mistaken, Trice didn't really improve at all in last year's training camp huh?

[Dennis]

Yeah forgot about cousins and whitehead. Should become solid PGs / starters too if hitting pots.

[andrei]

Trice has improved according to my scouts and still has some room. Hoping he is gonna jump like crazy this offseason

[blackice]

I really like the defensive minded core, Trie projects to be an above average starting PG in the mold of Payton and Crowder is a guy I've wanted for a long time.