ClutchPoints

Life comes at you fast in the NBA.

Not that long ago, the Grizzlies looked like the future of the Western Conference.

Back in 2022, they won 56 games, played with swagger, and seemed destined to be a championship contender for the next decade.

Fast forward to 2026, and that entire core has been completely wiped off the roster.

Here is the turnover Memphis has gone through over the last few years:

🔻 Ja Morant: Now with the Trail Blazers
🔻 Jaren Jackson Jr.: Now with the Jazz
🔻 Desmond Bane: Now with the Magic
🔻 Dillon Brooks: Now with the Suns
🔻 Steven Adams: Now with the Rockets

What do you think was the biggest reason this Memphis core fell apart so quickly?

Cale Makar just became the NHL’s first-ever $20 MILLION man.

The Avalanche superstar signed an 8-year, $163.2 million extension that will pay him $20.4 million per season beginning in 2027-28.

It's the highest annual salary in NHL history.

That’s historic...for hockey.

But put that number next to NBA salaries for comparison.

96 NBA players are at or over the $20 million mark for the 2026-27 season.

Not just MVPs and perennial All-Stars.

Players like Draymond Green and Kyle Kuzma are already in that salary neighborhood, while the NBA’s highest-paid stars are around the $60 million range.

Makar is one of the greatest hockey players on Earth.

He’s a Stanley Cup champion, Conn Smythe winner and two-time Norris Trophy winner.

But the richest annual contract in NHL history would barely stand out on an NBA payroll.

There was a time when Victor Oladipo was one of the most electric players in the NBA.

Go back to 2018. Indy turned into Vic's house; he was dropping playoff triple-doubles and trading blow for blow with prime LeBron James.

But basketball can be cruel. In the years following a devastating quad rupture and a broken patellar tendon, the world started treating one of the game's most passionate guards like a ghost of the past.

Now, Vic is laying his entire heart bare.

Writing directly to every front office in the league through The Players' Tribune, he poured out an emotional plea that isn't built on pride, but on pure resolve.

Refusing to let his story be written by injuries, he addressed NBA GMs with raw honesty:

"It ain't the version that you saw walking to that podium...or the version that you saw climbing toward the mountain top, after going toe to toe with LeBron in the playoffs at 25.

It's this version, right now, that I want Nomi to see.

Me, in this moment of my life, at 34 years old. The version of her dad that got kicked all the way down the mountain, then spent years trying to climb back up, only to get kicked back down, again and again… ut never once quit trying to climb.

The version of her dad that, let’s be real, is probably getting counted out by a lot of people, and is probably getting laughed at by a few of them…but has managed to keep his faith, and keep his purpose.

The version of her dad that’s finally found the perspective, and the humility, to write a letter like this one. To say to any GM who’s willing to listen: I believe my body is finally right. I believe I still have GREAT (and more importantly, WINNING) basketball in front of me.

I believe I can be a valuable contributor to an NBA locker room.

And what I’m asking for right now is an opportunity to prove it."

Every single fan who remembers the heart, the hustle, and the joy Vic brought to the hardwood knows the truth: Victor Oladipo deserves that shot.

In an era where players give up at the first sign of adversity, a veteran with this much fight, hunger, and battle-tested wisdom belongs in an NBA locker room.

Give this man his phone call.

He deserves it.

The Golden State Warriors dynasty was built on Steph, Klay, and Draymond, but their recent draft record and roster moves read like a massive timeline of missed opportunities.

Back in 2020, Minnesota offered the No. 1 pick to Golden State. The Dubs passed, the Minnesota Timberwolves nabbed Anthony Edwards, and Golden State settled on James Wiseman at No. 2.

To make matters worse, Jalen Rose revealed the Warriors actually told LaMelo Ball they’d take him before backing out at the last second.

Then came Tyrese Haliburton. Bob Myers openly admitted the front office wrestled with selecting him after a killer workout, only to stick with Wiseman while Haliburton went on to become an All-NBA guard.

The 2021 draft brought even more internal debate. Golden State's coaching staff and scouts wanted Franz Wagner at No. 7, but Joe Lacob pushed for Jonathan Kuminga.

Fast forward to now: Wagner is an established, max-contract cornerstone in Orlando, while Kuminga is already off the team.

To top it all off, Golden State completely botched their pursuit of LeBron James this summer. Even with Draymond opting out to help clear room this summer and reported mutual interest, LeBron stunned the league by signing with the Philadelphia 76ers instead.

Between passing on Edwards, LaMelo, Haliburton, and Wagner, the Kuminga standoff, and failing to pull off the LeBron blockbuster, the Warriors' transition era is starting to look like a running reel of what-ifs.

Does Stephen Curry deserve better?

Derrick Rose's Chicago origins don't necessarily mean his basketball GOAT is Michael Jordan, who won 6 NBA championships in the Windy City. Chicago fans will certainly not like his take, but D-Rose explained why his GOAT is someone else: Story in Comments 🔗👇

What really stopped LeBron James from joining Steph Curry in Golden State? 👀

An NBA insider has now revealed a Steph-related detail that played a role in the decision. Story in the comments 🔗👇

Montorie Foster Jr. went from substitute teacher… to winning a Super Bowl.

In 2025, he went undrafted.

Seattle Seahawks signed him, but a hamstring injury derailed his training camp. And the Seahawks waived him before he ever played.

So Foster went home.

He became a substitute teacher at his old high school.

He got his real estate license.

He started preparing for life after football. But he never stopped training.

And months later, Seattle called again.

The Seahawks brought him back to the practice squad at the end of the season - and Foster ended the year as a Super Bowl champion.

Then came another chance.

Foster returned for 2026, fought through training camp, caught a TD pass in the preseason…

…and earned a spot on Seattle’s 53-man roster.

But there's a catch.

He's still working in real estate.

Foster has even brought his Super Bowl ring to open houses while trying to make his first sale.

Undrafted.
Waived.
Substitute teacher.
Real estate agent.
And now an NFL wide receiver again.

That’s a heck of a career detour.

This Miami Heat roster having 10 straight years of Finals representation is actually INSANE. 🤯🔥

Miami currently holds a player who appeared in every single NBA Finals from 2015 through 2024:

🏆 2015–2019, 2022: Klay Thompson (6 Finals, 4 rings)
🏆 2020: Bam Adebayo
🏆 2021: Giannis Antetokounmpo (35.2 PPG), Bobby Portis
🏆 2022: Andrew Wiggins
🏆 2023: Bam Adebayo and Nikola Jovic
🏆 2024: Tim Hardaway Jr.

When the lights blind you and every single possession feels like life or death, you can’t fake composure.

These guys have bled for championships, battled it out on the biggest of stages, and (some) lifted the trophy.

Talent gets you to the postseason.

Championship scar tissue is what brings the Larry O'Brien home. 👀