On this episode of a Heat Check, it's time for the Rookie Report, folks. You're weekly checking on the rookies and how they're doing in the league. It is New Year's Eve. We've got a check in on Memphis Grizzlies rookie. I'm not talking about Jalen Wells. I'm not talking about Zach Adie. If you follow the NBA, you know exactly who I'm talking about. Let's get into it. Anthony, drop that motherfucking beat that should be Rihanna.
By the way, first, and forearm off.
I'm sorry that the cadence of the podcast are not Monday, Wednesday, Friday.
I am moving across the country. I am packing.
I am trying to enjoy a little bit of hore. So let's let's just give me a little grace before twenty twenty five.
Okay, you know who, though doesn't get anywhere.
Near the amount of grace and love and support is he should get Zach Kleman.
Who is that?
If you don't know who that is, I wouldn't actually blame you.
Get in line.
Most people don't know who the GM of the Memphis Grizzlies is. But Zach Climan has quietly become one of the best gms in the entire league.
I think he may be right below Sam Presty.
In terms of current gms that have been building the team that they're currently executing on.
You know what I'm saying. You know what I mean. He was even NBA Executive.
The Year in twenty twenty one to twenty twenty two, which makes sense. Not only did he do a great job navigating the off court bullshit surrounding job the past couple of years.
He has created a very stable franchise.
Taylor Jenkins has been the coach since twenty nineteen when he took over. We've had a lot of turnover all over the league. Since then, He's made awesome trades. His first move was to get rid of Mike Conley and Iguidala when he took over the team, and that kickstarted this team. People were very mad when they got rid of Iguidala, but much more valuable in the long run.
He has killed it in.
The draft, absolutely destroyed it ever since hitting the Grand Slam getting John Morant with a number two overall pick. God, can you imagine if they would have had the number one overall pick and drafted Zion, so much of this would be so different anyway.
Twenty twenty, let's go through him. This is about a rookie.
I promise this will be about a rookie. Twenty twenty, my man, Zach Kleman takes Desmond Baine with the thirtieth overall pick, actually having the trade with the Boston Celtics to get that pick. Twenty twenty one, goes and gets Santi al Damo with the thirtieth pick, twenty twenty two gets Jake Larevio with the nineteenth pick and Vince Williams Junior with the forty seventh overall pick. Twenty twenty three he gets Gigi Jackson with the forty fourth overall pick.
And then twenty twenty four, of course they had a top ten pick getting Zach Edy, but then they go out and get Jalen Wells with thirty ninth overall pick, who's been very productive so far in his rookie season, and Cam Spencer Yukon Great Cam Spencer with the fifty third overall pick. And that doesn't even include how good Zach Kleman is at taking other people's trash and turning him into his treasure.
From the scrap heaps for example.
Let's take Scottie Pippen Junior for example, who the Lakers gave up on. They said, this kid can't play halfway through his rookie year. Zach signed him on a two way, and now Memphis has turned him into a dude who's playing every game this year, and it's putting up eleven four and five with one and a half stocks as the seventh or eighth man off the bench.
Little golf clap for Zach Lyman on the Scottie Pippen Jr. But the guy that I want.
To talk about today wasn't even drafted and yet still has an outside influence on the Memphis Grizzlies as a whole.
We're talking about Yuki kawer Mura.
If you know Yuki Yuki, it's because he's become a cult figure in the league. Undrafted kid who is five to seven. He's a guard out of Japan. He wowed people in the Olympics, but very few people thought that they would ever see him in an NBA uniform. Despite putting up twenty nine, seven and six in a game against the host country in France that came down to the final seconds Yuki fucking barbecued chicken. These dudes, he
torched them, he grilled them, he fried them. Evan Fournier, Bilao Kulabali, Frank Nilakina that they had twenty two years of NBA experience between them, but no, no, Yuki put him on the fucking hibachi.
No pun intended.
It was one of the eye openers of the Olympic Basketball Tournament. Still, he was passed up by twenty nine teams. Zak Cleman saw something in Yuki. He signed him to play for the j League Grizzlies, and guess what. Yuki led the team and assists with twenty one twenty one.
Many were certified dimes.
The dude is a passer. He also became an immediate crowd favorite in Vegas.
Which you just cannot ignore.
As a result, Zach Kleman signed him to a two way after Scottie Pippens's contract was converted into a multi year deal. Even got the jersey number seventeen, a mystical number in Japan because it's the same number that was worn by show Hey oh Tani. Talk about a little pressure anyway, Yuki said at the time of signing, I have to prove to my teammates and the coaching staff that I can play. Let's face it, most non Memphis fans saw it as a publicity stunted.
They were like, this kid is just.
Here for the vibes, especially after the photo of Yuki the tiny, little, diminutive Yuki and then Zach Edy the monster next to him, and that photo went viral. And to be fair, the fanfare around the league for him has mostly been about the novelty of Yuki. But guess what Gus Little's secret Loll's surprise is out kaboom Yuki can play ball. Although he has mostly been getting garbage time minutes, nobody out there thinks he's a novelty anymore.
His passes are as good as just about anyone's, proving that the G League success was no fluke, and recently, in a game against the Thunder, Yuki got double digit minutes for the first time and turned into a turned it into a ten point three three performance on four for five from the field. If you don't believe me that he is a real player, check out what shay Yeldris Alexander said had to say about him.
Really good basketball player. He can see he had like ten points in five minutes. I'm like three assists. It's very skilled, knows how to play basketball in it's court. I see that despite the size, that he can play out there, and it goes back to what I said, if you have feel he can play no matter what.
Ooh. We already know that Yuki is an incredibly popular player on the Grizzlies, especially John Morant who has taken him under his wing. Which that is what an incredible fucking story. That is like the little Guy cap Buddy Cop movie that is Jaw and Yuki.
I need that.
It's like rush hour. It's literally rush hour awesome stuff. Yuki has gonna be so funny. Yuki has great court vision. He's got the incredible ability to pass, the ability to knock down the open shot. The question is whether he can play defense. But to be honest, he's kind of like Josey Alvararo, a little bit hustling on the defensive end,
and that I think will count for something. He will almost certainly finish out the season on a two way deal with the Memphis Grizzlies, and he's only played about half their games the fifty game limit before converting into a two way to a real contract will really not come into effect. So Yuki should be with the grizz all season, which I think is awesome because not only are the Grizzlies home fans chanting his name, you key, you key, he's getting standing ovations on the road as well.
The dude is a sensation and he's doing wonders for the locker room. If you need someone to cool down the temperature on all the gun stuff.
You key, you key.
He's making everyone around him happier, play harder, and that has value in this league. Yuki Mania is here, and although he has no show, hey Otani, the dude is a baller and it is awesome that the league has found a place for him, especially even at the end of the bench, where if he keeps playing like this, it won't be that way for long.
That's all the.
Time that we have for this episode of that Heat. Check tune in every week as we break down what's happening in the Freshman clar and come back next.
Year har Horror two days from now for an a new.
Episode, and check out the feed for past episodes and many episodes which drop unexpectedly like the.
Ball drop on twenty twenty five. How the hell did twenty twenty four go so fast?
Do not forget to follow the heat Check all season long? And he's download subscribe, Tell your friends. Make it your New Year's resolution to tell ten people about that. It's like the Ponzi scheme, only the only thing you have to do is just tell people, Hey, download this, tell everyone. Follow the heat Check at a trist to creek on Twitter, Instagram and threads. I am blowing up on Meta's new platform, Threads. I think you should go there. It's fucking lit over there. Uh.
I post every day. It's pretty much my most consistent platform. I don't have to look good in order to post. Happy New Year's everyone.
Thank you so much for another season of listening to you Check. I appreciate all of you, I appreciate my producer Anthony Irwin.
Have a safe less follow us.
We'll see you next year and