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Memphis Grizzlies Matchup with Sacramento Features Advantages from NBA Draft, Trade

By Christian Dudley

Garrett Temple Memphis Grizzlies (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images)
Garrett Temple Memphis Grizzlies (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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MEMPHIS, TN – OCTOBER 6: Garrett Temple #17 of the Memphis Grizzlies gets introduced before the game against the Indiana Pacers on October 6, 2018 at FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images)
MEMPHIS, TN – OCTOBER 6: Garrett Temple #17 of the Memphis Grizzlies gets introduced before the game against the Indiana Pacers on October 6, 2018 at FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Trading Places

The Memphis Grizzlies continued their trend of wheeling and dealing with the Sacramento Kings in the offseason by offloading Ben McLemore and Deyonta Davis.

This particular trade came with multiple risks for the Grizzlies. They gave up on center prospect Davis rather early. He spent just two seasons with Memphis prior to the deal that shipped him to Sacramento. Would it come back to bite them?

Furthermore, potential exists that Memphis’ demonstration of giving up on the services of McLemore was premature. After signing him to a free-agent deal in 2017, he appeared in just 56 games for the Grizzlies. Though he did not instantly become the shooting guard that Memphis envisioned, he was committed to proving critics wrong about his NBA career.

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Lastly, the Memphis Grizzlies welcomed an $8 million annual salary in Garrett Temple, a veteran role player. He is a glue guy, and some teams may balk at paying that much for a guy that is not intended to carry a scoring or rebounding load.

Even in a perfect world, it would have been hard to imagine that the Grizzlies would have came out as well as they did. Again, Wednesday will mark just four games into the 2018-19 regular season, but Memphis is the clearcut winner of this trade.

Garrett Temple started the season on a scoring rampage, netting 30 points on 10/11 shooting versus the Atlanta Hawks. He is able to contribute at multiple positions, handle the ball, and utilize his length to his advantage on the defensive end. The scoring factor is icing on the cake.

Sacramento has not been so lucky with the combination of Ben McLemore and Deyonta Davis. The Kings wound up waiving Davis prior to training camp and McLemore is averaging 3.0 points in only 4.7 minutes per game. Ben is an end-of-the-bench afterthought and it will likely be that way unless significant injuries are sustained.

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Wednesday’s Grizzlies at Kings meeting will be another evaluation of this NBA transaction, and all signs point to Memphis remaining the winner.

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