Webster’s Dictionary defines reckoning as the following:
- the act or instance of reckoning
- a settling of accounts
- a summing up
With a contract extension on the verge of kicking in, John Konchar’s year is worth summing up as Memphis heads into the offseason. In a year that was highlighted by significant roster modifications throughout, the Grizzlies needed the former undrafted rookie out of Fort Wayne. They needed his consistency, his professionalism, his Jitty-ness.
Very neat indeed. I mean, how can you not love John Konchar’s story? Going from undrafted rookie to signing a two-way contract, to then converting said contract to a multi-year deal with the Grizzlies. Considering there’s now an entire “inspirational sports drama” genre of film, this is literally the stuff movies are made of.
Now did I see him parlaying that first contract into a $19 million extension with Memphis this past offseason? Not really, no. And I don’t think anyone on the planet had Jitty inking a deal with Nike on their bingo card. Clearly this season showed that, no matter what what we think, this franchise clearly values what he brings to this roster.
A season removed from signing said extension, the deal is already worth re-examining. The question remains, is Jitty worth this price?
Fans may not like it but yes, yes he is. Despite what you may think of John Konchar, he’s the ideal tenth man for this rotation, and this year proved that. Now, a serviceable tenth man may be a luxury in this league but when Memphis was ravaged with injuries this past year, it was obviously a luxury they needed. As well as one they could afford.
A very ‘Jitty’ season
The 22/23 season was one that saw Konchar hit career marks in points and steals per game (5.1 points, 1.1 steals) while nearly matching his highs in assists and rebounds as well (1.4 assists, 4.3 rebounds). He appeared in 72 out of a possible 82 games, and started in 23 of these contests as well, over a quarter of the Grizzlies’ season. ‘Jitty’ is honestly a big part of why Memphis was able to tread water early in the season when Desmond Bane’s foot issues first started.
After logging increasingly more minutes in each of his first three seasons, these starts would help factor into a career high in minutes per game as well for Konchar. His 20.8 minutes per game were tenth on the team, higher than Brandon Clarke, Xavier Tillman, and David Roddy. This makes it sound as if it was all sunshine and rainbows for ‘Jitty’, when if we’re honest… that wasn’t the case.
Despite recording career highs in points, steals, and minutes last year, it was the worst shooting season ‘Jitty’ has had since he was a rook. He shot the ball at a 43.1% clip from the field on 4.4 shot attempts per game. To put that into context, here’s Konchar’s shooting stats broken down by year:
- 19/20 season: FG% – 64.9% on 1.9 attempts/game, 3P% – 50.0% on 0.5 attempts/game
- 20/21 season: FG% – 50.0% on 3.2 attempts/game, 3P% – 37.5% on 1.3 attempts/game
- 21/22 season: FG% – 51.5% on 3.6 attempts/game, 3P% – 41.3% on 1.8 attempts/game
- 22/23 season: FG% – 43.1% on 4.4 attempts/game, 3P% – 33.9% on 2.5 attempts/game
After never shooting less than 50% from the field and 35% from three point land, that 43.1% and 33.9% sticks out like a sore thumb. Considering Memphis ranked in the bottom half of the league when it came to shooting the ball this past season this dip in efficiency from ‘Jitty’ was not ideal. Especially considering he played more last year.
Regardless, Konchar was a serviceable replacement this year, averaging 8.4 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in his starts. Those numbers aren’t going to blow anyone away, but they’re certainly not going to hurt the Grizzlies either. He would keep the Grizzlies afloat until the trade deadline, when the acquisition of Luke Kennard would completely change this team’s trajectory.
The Kennard trade would allow Konchar to slip back into the 10th man role that he’s significantly more comfortable with. ‘Jitty’ would be non factor in the playoffs, save for demoralizing Anthony Davis see below.
If we’re being honest though, the only reason he saw the court in the postseason was due to injuries. Plus you look at the minute totals of the current playoff teams and look who the 10th guys in their rotations are:
- Daniel House Jr., Haywood Highsmith, Miles McBride, Lonnie Walker IV, Johnathan Kuminga, Peyton Watson, Damion Lee, Peyton Pritchard
I’m willing to bet you’d take Konchar over at least half of those guys. Plus he’s still got a year left on his current deal, which has him making the 12th most on the roster.
When the extension kicks in the following year though he’ll be the 6th highest paid Grizzly under contract. So for at least one more year, I promise you won’t do better than ‘Jitty’ in terms of a tenth man…and that’s very neat.