Memphis Grizzlies: Courtney Lee Traded To Charlotte Hornets

The Memphis Grizzlies have dealt Courtney Lee to the Charlotte Hornets in a three-team deal that also includes the Miami Heat.

It didn’t take long for the Memphis Grizzlies to get involved in the NBA trade deadline action, but they’ve done so as an agreement is in place to send guard Courtney Lee to the Charlotte Hornets as part of a three-team deal with the Miami Heat according to The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

According to Wojnarowski the Heat will also send two future second-round picks and center Chris Andersen to the Grizzlies to complete the swap, although one of the picks will be heavily protected.

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So what does this mean for Memphis? Lee was arguably one of the Grizzlies’ most versatile scorers on the perimeter. To this point in the year Lee was averaging 10 points per game on a .458/.370/.826 slash line. Those are efficient numbers for a shooting guard only taking 8.2 shots per game.

He wasn’t a featured part of Memphis’ offense but he came through when called upon in a similar way to Mario Chalmers who was also a piece in a Grizzlies trade this season.

Now Memphis does get back guard P.J. Hairston, but he isn’t nearly as seasoned as Lee in terms of playoff experience. Even though the Grizzlies aren’t expected to make a deep run in the postseason due to Marc Gasol‘s serious injury they’ve certainly taken a step back in terms of what they can do against an opponent if they get there.

With all the picks acquired in this trade it seems Memphis is focused on the future and taking in as many assets as possible. Hairston is still young with enough upside and second-round picks (any draft picks in general) have as much value as they’ve ever had.

Could the Grizzlies use these pieces to swing another deal before the deadline? Perhaps. With a deep playoff run unlikely it certainly opens the doors for Memphis to experiment with a number of deals. The Grizzlies could even make calls around the league and gauge interest in the expiring contract of star point guard Mike Conley should they want to formally launch a rebuild.

Either way this deal has helped signal the beginning of the madness that surrounds the trade deadline each year. Only time will tell if more moves are coming to our resident team on Beale Street.

For more NBA trade deadline coverage involving the Memphis Grizzlies follow us on Twitter @BealeStBearsFS.