On December 18, Beijing time, according to Grizzlies reporter Damichael Cole, sources revealed that in order to welcome back Ja Morant, who is about to return from the ban, the Memphis Grizzlies will cut forward Kenneth Lofton.
With Morant's return, the Grizzlies will be overloaded with 15 players. Because they had previously signed free agent and center Biyombo on an immunity, they had to cut one man to meet the league's criteria for a team's roster before Morant returned. Because the team's two major interior linemen, Clark and Adams, have been reimbursed for the season due to injuries, and Biyombo's performance has been particularly good since he joined, so the Grizzlies have to attack others in order to keep Biyombo.
According to a previous report by well-known journalist Matt Moore, the Grizzlies could cut LaRavia or Konchar in order to keep center Bismarck Biyombo. But what people never expected was that they finally chose to cut "Chubby" Lofton. As a result, Lofton naturally became a victim of Biyombo's stay, and he also became the first Grizzlies to leave the team in the new season. As much as he was eager to stay in Memphis to play for the Grizzlies, Lofton had to say goodbye to everything the Grizzlies had to say goodbye to!
Kenneloufton, who was born in August 2002, is currently only 21 years old, 1.98 meters tall, and has an official weight of 124 kilograms. However, according to related reports, Lofton currently weighs more than 136 kilograms, making him the heaviest player in the league at the moment. And the reason why the Grizzlies chose to cut Lofton with great potential may have the most direct relationship with his weight!
So far this season, Lofton has not had many appearances, averaging only 2.6 points and 1 rebound per game in his limited playing time. But in the final game of the regular season last season, the young Lofton made a name for himself, and he exploded with 42 points and 14 rebounds in a single game in the closing game, and he was in the limelight for a while!
After all, Lofton was once favored to have great potential to become the next "Randolph", and his height, weight, and playing style were quite similar to the Grizzlies legend Randolph. But they don't have much time and energy to develop Lofton at the moment, after all, the team is currently at the bottom of the West, and they will be in full swing for the playoffs when Morant returns from the suspension.
Grizzlies star Ja Morant is expected to return for Wednesday's game against the New Orleans Pelicans. So, before that, the Grizzlies had to cut Lofton quickly to make way for Morant's return and Biyombo's stay. For the Grizzlies, the only thing to do next is to keep winning under Morant's leadership and try to get the team back on track! Because this season they have been reduced to a lamb to be slaughtered under the double blow of Morant's 25-game suspension and two major interior season reimbursements! Now that Morant is back, they are bound to want revenge and regain their status.