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Olivier-Maxence Prosper Appears ‘Safe’ Amid Grizzlies Roster Crunch, but Others at Risk
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- Olivier-Maxence Prosper Appears ‘Safe’ Amid Grizzlies Roster Crunch, but Others at Risk
(Petre Thomas-Imagn Images)
The Memphis Grizzlies still have to trim their roster down before the start of the 2026-27 season to be in compliance with league rules.
While that's going to spell bad news for a number of players, NBA insider Jake Fischer indicated during a recent Bleacher Report live stream that Grizzlies forward Olivier-Maxence Prosper appears safe.
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"I think he is safe and gonna be sticking around in the Grizzlies' world," Fischer said, citing conversations he's had about the roster crunch.
Fischer listed Jordan Hawkins , Micah Peavy , D'Angelo Russell, Walter Clayton Jr. and Kris Murray as players who are at risk of being cut.
Prosper has become a nice success story for the Grizzlies, and Fischer's reporting on his status falls in line with some buzz from earlier this offseason that indicated Memphis wanted to keep him.
The Grizzlies exercised their team option on Prosper in June.
A late first-round pick in 2023, the now 24-year-old never really got going during his first two NBA seasons with the Dallas Mavericks . That led to him being waived last offseason.
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The Grizzlies then swooped in and signed him to a two-way contract, which was later converted to a standard deal amid some strong play in the 2025-26 season.
Prosper finished the 2025-26 season averaging 10.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game for Memphis while shooting 54.9 percent from the field and 40.5 percent from long range. He made 53 appearances and 24 starts.
The forward is playing on a team-friendly deal this coming season and could become a nice piece for the Grizzlies moving forward if he continues to evolve.
Meanwhile, Memphis has some tough roster decisions to make. The team currently has 19 players on standard deals, a number that will need to come down to 15 by the start of the regular season.
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The Grizzlies have to decide which players they want to prioritize this coming season in the first year of the Cameron Boozer era. Trimming down a roster is never fun, but Memphis can't be faulted for carrying lots of players in the offseason in order to keep its options open.
No matter what, there is going to be lots of new blood in the building for the Grizzlies this season, but there will be a little less if Russell and/or Murray are casualties of the roster crunch. Other newcomers like Boozer, Isaiah Stewart , Jerami Grant and Quinten Post will have a chance to give the team a shot in the arm regardless of how the roster gets trimmed.
Memphis won just 25 games last season but is hoping to surprise some teams in the 2026-27 campaign.
