The Grizzlies' early win total for the 2025-26 season was set at 40.5 by DraftKings Sportsbook following their offseason moves. While the general consensus has been that they couldn't refuse the four first-round picks received in the trade that sent Desmond Bane to the Orlando Magic, they also took a step back in the interim.
Their first move with their new collection of assets was packaging two of those picks to move up in the 2025 NBA Draft to select promising wing Cedric Coward. He couldn't play in the NBA Summer League due to a shoulder injury, so the hype about the pick died down on a national media scale.