The Memphis Grizzlies aren't making a trade
Until they are...
Two teams thought to be Eastern Conference playoff squads entering the season are imploding. The Toronto Raptors (13-17, currently 10th in the East) and Chicago Bulls (11-18, 11th in the East) look more like NBA Lottery favorites than postseason ones. And as Christmas approaches, and teams come to grips with who they are over a third of the way through the season, that could mean that talented players like DeMar DeRozan, Gary Trent Jr., and others may be on the trade block.
In the past, whether via blog post or podcast episode, the mind of this writer would wander in the the abyss that is the trade machine. “How can the Memphis Grizzlies get better!”, I’d think. A Harrison Barnes here, a Jerami Grant there…up and down for roughly a decade covering this team there’d be a search for that missing piece, or that future asset. This used to be the best time of the year for the content creator! And it still is…
Just not for this content creator.
Because the Memphis Grizzlies are not in the business of these types of trades - at least not during the season. Grizzlies GM Zach Kleiman has never made an in-season trade as the leader of the Memphis front office (unless you want to give him credit for the Marc Gasol deal in February of 2019, as some do - Chris Wallace, the former Grizzlies GM, was essentially a lame duck at that stage). He has been very active in the offseason, especially within NBA Drafts, but in-season exchanges of talent and draft picks? Essentially never.
And what hangs over the heads of Memphis now is the reality of their better-than-expected current circumstances. Bad loss this past weekend in Oklahoma City aside, Memphis is one of the very best teams in the NBA despite their superstar (Ja Morant) and two key co-stars (Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr.) not playing a minute together yet. That means while other teams are coming to grips with their realities of their circumstances in a negative way, the Grizzlies can continue to dream big dreams about what is still possible for their ceiling.
Does that mean Memphis will not be included in trade rumors? Absolutely not. Brian Windhorst explained why - with the major trade piece in terms of contract sitting right next to him - quite well here.
And there is no team in the NBA more uniquely positioned to make a deal, whether it makes the Grizzlies better or helps facilitate a potential 3-team deal, than Memphis. Those draft picks and that expiring contract of Danny Green could acquire a variety of talent across the NBA. Just from the aforementioned Raptors and Bulls, Green and a future 1st (lets just say Memphis’ 1st this season, Lottery protected) could be the beginning of a framework for a variety of deals.
Green, the expiring contract of Dillon Brooks, and that 1st (or another of Toronto’s choosing) for O.G Anunoby - a bigger combo forward with better offense and comparable defense to Brooks under contract through at least 2024 - would potentially make sense, at least as a starting point. However, then you’re losing a player that is arguably the most important one to winning for Memphis (his +13.1 rating is 95th percentile in the NBA) for a player that is a +7.2 in the same metric per Cleaning the Glass this season. Anunoby is a better scoring weapon than Brooks and provides greater positional versatility, but is the difference that meaningful to disrupt team chemistry?
From a Bulls perspective, Green and a 1st for Alex Caruso works hypothetically and would add another veteran presence to this roster. Caruso can handle and facilitate offense either running the point or off the ball as a secondary creator. A 37% three point shooter this season, the 6’4” Caruso is elite in the valued “stocks” category (100th percentile in block percentage, 95th in steals) and brings more to the table statistically than John Konchar currently does. A theoretical Tyus Jones/Alex Caruso/John Konchar or Ziaire Williams/Brandon Clarke/Santi Aldama bench is stout and would only improve the depth of Memphis.
Yet Konchar has been heavily invested in by the Grizzlies (much like Brooks before him), both in terms of minutes and multiple contract extensions. He has a game that is malleable and fits the schemes of Memphis well on both ends. Could Caruso fill in well? Perhaps - but the Grizzlies brass KNOWS Konchar is a player that functions at a good-to-great-at-times level. He’s an underrated part of the culture Memphis has established, a shining example of their developmental strength that has yet to be able to be in his ideal role as a reserve consistently this season.
The Grizzlies value that immensely. And as Green pointed out in the end of the above video, Memphis wants to see what they have when healthy. Even if that “healthy” doesn’t include Green. His veteran presence on the bench and in practice/meeting rooms is not without importance, and if he does come back healthy he is capable of defending and shooting the three in spurts (96th and 91st percentile in block and steal percentage for the 76ers last season while shooting 38% from three, per Cleaning the Glass).
The Memphis Grizzlies don’t fully understand what they are capable of just yet. Ja Morant is one of the 10 best players in the NBA. Jaren Jackson Jr. and Desmond Bane are All-Star caliber players, even if they don’t get selected to the squad. And the role players and reserves around them have been added to this roster with care over these last three and a half years. Every piece fits both Memphis and the organization. The puzzle is essentially complete, and the only thing left for the Grizzlies is time for it all to settle in and develop.
So while the trade machine is fun (believe me), and in theory upgrades may well be available soon, Memphis will be sitting out those deals beyond rumors. Kleiman and Grizzlies Head Coach Taylor Jenkins have built not just a house, but a home in Memphis. Ja Morant and company are a family - it’s part of what makes them one of the most fun teams in the NBA. That organic and genuine energy can change in the offseason and evolve when new campaigns begin. But in-season, that process is much more complicated.
And the Grizzlies aren’t in a rush to get to complicated. They have time.
How dare you forget the massive Jordan Bell for Bruno Caboclo trade in February of 2020! (Or the Winslow trade!) but overall, yes, I agree the Grizzlies will get on the phones to see the cost of acquiring other players before ultimately standing pat.