The same operation as 4 years ago! Can the Grizzlies choose the core of the future in this upward trading?

During this year's NBA draft, the Memphis Grizzlies and the Portland Trail Blazers reached a deal. They used their first-round No. 16 picks, the Orlando Magic's 2028 first-round picks and two second-round picks to exchange the Portland Trail Blazers for the 11th pick in the first-round No. 11, and used this pick to select Cedric Coward, a big four-wing player who had previously played for Washington State University.

Coward was born in September 2003 and is 21 years old. He is a wing player with a very comprehensive offense and defense ability. According to data from the previous joint trial physical test, Coward's bare feet were 196.2cm, his wingspan was 219.1cm, his standing height was 269.2cm, and his weight was 96.6kg. In the NCAA field this season, Coward was affected by injury and only played 6 times on behalf of the team, averaging 32.8 minutes per game, with averaging 17.7 points, 7.0 rebounds (1.8 frontcourt rebounds), 3.7 assists, 0.8 steals and 1.7 blocks, and 2.2 turnovers and 2.7 fouls. His shooting percentage was 55.7% (5.7/10.2), a three-point shooting percentage of 40% (2.0/5.0), and a free throw shooting percentage of 83.9% (4.3/5.2).

From the perspective of characteristics, Coward can provide a lot of support to the team on both offense and defense. He has rich offensive means and comprehensive scoring ability on the offensive end. He can use breakthroughs and ball-holding attacks to complete scoring, and his outside shooting stability is also quite good. As a wing player, his performance in passing and organizing offense is also quite remarkable. Not only that, Coward's performance on the defensive end is obvious to all. He is also a very excellent defender. His personal defense ability is very outstanding, and he even has a certain ability to protect the basket. On the other hand, Coward performed very well in both static talent and dynamic talent in the joint trial physical test session, and his draft market also soared after the joint trial physical test session. However, Coward is a little older. He has not played for the NCAA team before this season, and he has only played 6 times due to injury this season. He has not appeared on the court since December. The authenticity and reliability of his gorgeous data are also somewhat doubtful. The Grizzlies' purpose of choosing Coward was very obvious, hoping that he could replace Desmond Bane, who had just left the team, and assume a lot of responsibilities on both sides of the offense and defense. Considering that the Grizzlies had to pay a lot of chips to choose Coward, this also shows that they also had high hopes for him. However, this Grizzlies' deal will definitely remind everyone of the story of the Grizzlies' first round 17 draw with the New Orleans Pelicans upward trade and Ziaire Williams in the 2021 NBA Draft, while the Pelicans selected Trey Murphy with the No. 17 draw, which originally belonged to the Grizzlies. Now Murphy has obtained a big contract, while Williams is about to lose his job. I don’t know if the Grizzlies’ operation will repeat their mistakes 4 years ago?