{"id":2878,"date":"2026-06-26T17:08:27","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T17:08:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=2878"},"modified":"2026-06-26T17:08:27","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T17:08:27","slug":"what-richie-saunders-said-at-his-introductory-press-conference-with-the-memphis-grizzlies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=2878","title":{"rendered":"What Richie Saunders said at his introductory press conference with the Memphis Grizzlies"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>Richie Saunders is in a unique spot for a rookie.<\/p>\n<p>He turns 25 this September, making him older than the majority of his new Memphis Grizzlies teammates who already hold significant NBA seasoning.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=2876\">Opinion: Science is moving fast, Utah\u2019s measles outbreak doesn\u2019t have to end in tragedy<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Put it this way \u2014 when Saunders graduated from high school back in 2020, Memphis\u2019 new top draft choice Cameron Boozer was just 12 years old.<\/p>\n<p>But just as he said during the pre-draft process, Saunders views his age as an advantage in entering the NBA with a wealth of experience under his belt.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt took a little bit, but I\u2019m here,\u201d Saunders said with a laugh Thursday at his introductory press conference with the Grizzlies.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI mean, that\u2019s how it\u2019s been. I think last year (at BYU) just being with younger players and being able to help guide them in the ways that I\u2019ve seen, just using my experience in the game, it\u2019s been great.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m young in the sense of I\u2019ve never put on an NBA uniform, but I\u2019m going to come in and use my previous experience that I\u2019ve had over the years and really just focus it here and hopefully be able to guide some of my young teammates as well as a rookie. It\u2019s funny saying my \u2018young teammates,\u2019 but that\u2019s what it is.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Grizzlies drafted Saunders with the second pick of the second round of this year\u2019s draft earlier this week, resisting trade offers for the No. 32 pick from other teams so they could select the senior sharpshooter from BYU.<\/p>\n<p>Saunders\u2019 wife, the former Sierra Johnson, hails from Arkansas, so Saunders has already spent some time in the south prior to becoming the Grizzlies\u2019 second round man. <\/p>\n<p>As for Memphis itself, he said he\u2019s looking forward to the town\u2019s barbecue, music scene and seeing the famous Peabody Ducks \u2014 the latter being no surprise considering the duck-feeding business Saunders started as a youngster back in Utah to help fund his two-year Latter-day Saint mission.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=2874\">Deseret News archives: Of 4 Borgstrom brothers, \u2018To them belongs page of history\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\ud835\udc02\ud835\udc02 \ud835\udc28\ud835\udc27 \ud835\udc2d\ud835\udc21\ud835\udc1e \ud83c\udfa4 \ud835\udc30\ud835\udc22\ud835\udc2d\ud835\udc21 \ud835\udc11\ud835\udc22\ud835\udc1c\ud835\udc21\ud835\udc22\ud835\udc1e pic.twitter.com\/biRv7sdPPD<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Memphis Grizzlies (@memgrizz) June 26, 2026<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201c(I\u2019ve been welcomed by the Grizzlies with) open arms,\u201d Saunders said. \u201cEverybody\u2019s been super friendly, and it\u2019s clear everybody has the right goal and right mindset of winning and playing hard.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Having torn his ACL back in February, Saunders will be unable to participate in Summer League with the Grizzlies, and his return date remains to be seen.<\/p>\n<p>However, he\u2019s not letting his current health status dampen his enthusiasm for getting back on the hardwood eventually.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was hard, right? Coming off of or having pretty much a life changing injury, I\u2019ve never experienced that, but I\u2019ve been just so focused on getting better and focused on having a great foundation,\u201d Saunders said. \u201cAs I enter into this next step from a knee standpoint, it\u2019s just been a grind, it\u2019s been work, and that\u2019s what I\u2019ve done my whole career, is work. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m just grateful to be here. I\u2019m grateful to finish my rehab here and be playing when I\u2019m playing, and be able to just work alongside these guys and alongside the rest of the team and bring what I bring to the table and help win games.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Grizzlies have fallen on harder times in recent years, but Boozer, Saunders and No. 21 overall draft selection Karim Lopez help represent the hope for the franchise\u2019s return to playoff contention through toughness, hustle and grit.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen we\u2019re thinking about the type of individuals that embody this team, this organization, you\u2019re looking at them,\u201d said Grizzlies general manager Zach Kleiman, referring to Saunders, Boozer and Lopez.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think they speak for themselves, the professionalism comes through. These guys are all focused on winning. At the end of the day, that\u2019s what it all flows from. We\u2019ve got tough-minded, physically tough, highly-skilled (players), but these are guys that are going to go out and fight every day &#8230; we couldn\u2019t be more excited organizationally because this is the Grizzlies\u2019 DNA.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=2872\">The main motor: Latinos accounted for nearly half of Utah\u2019s growth from 2020 to 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Richie Saunders is in a unique spot for a rookie. He turns 25 this September, making him older than the majority of his new Memphis Grizzlies teammates who already hold significant NBA seasoning. Read more Opinion: Science is moving fast, Utah\u2019s measles outbreak doesn\u2019t have to end in tragedy Put it this way \u2014 when [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2877,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2878","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>What Richie Saunders said at his introductory press conference with the Memphis Grizzlies - American Movers Hub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=2878\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Richie Saunders said at his introductory press conference with the Memphis Grizzlies - American Movers Hub\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Richie Saunders is in a unique spot for a rookie. He turns 25 this September, making him older than the majority of his new Memphis Grizzlies teammates who already hold significant NBA seasoning. 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