The NBA Trade rumors will continue to heat up over the next few days surrounding Mike Conley. It seems as the Memphis Grizzlies will have plenty of options for their star point guard.
The Memphis Grizzlies will be able to make a trade surrounding Mike Conley if they so choose. While the Utah Jazz have made themselves the favorite it seems as if the Detroit Pistons want to make a move for Conley as well.
Detroit Pistons want to trade, but with a couple of cheap roster assets is dealing 1st-round picks worth it? https://t.co/KexNmkHS4j via @freep
— VinceEllis (@AlabamaScribe56) February 4, 2019
Any potential trade between these two teams would likely be headlined by the Reggie Jackson-Conley swap with a 2019 first-rounder going from Detroit to Memphis.
It is important to note that their first-round pick is very much expected to be worse than Utah’s which could be a deciding factor in a close deal. The Pistons having interest could force the Jazz to part with some other asset such as Grayson Allen.
Other pieces would certainly be involved to make the salaries work with Detroit. Jackson is slated to make $18.1 million next season in what is the final year of his contract so it’s possible Memphis would prefer some expiring deals.
They don’t have many expiring deals that are worth much though. Ish Smith has a $6 million contract that expires this summer and he’s the highest expiring deal on the team. It also seems unlikely the Pistons would want to include him as he is who they would prefer to be their backup point guard for the playoffs.
Jon Leuer is an obvious candidate to be included in this deal with the $10 million he makes this season they would be able to match salaries easily by including him. He will make $9.5 million next season though which could lead to Memphis wanting more assets than just one first-round pick.
They could ask for a future first-round pick but that seems very unlikely. I think more possible is a second-round pick could be added in addition to a combination of the Pistons young players.
The guy that would be at the top of the Grizzlies list is Luke Kennard. He is a future first-round pick that can score the ball and despite struggling thus far in his career he would be a nice addition to the Grizzlies young core.
There are also a handful of other young players that could be included. The Grizzlies could be interested in acquiring someone such as Khyri Thomas, Bruce Brown, or Stanley Johnson. Those are all solid players and could easily be included rather than an additional second-round pick.
Memphis should be careful about doing a 3-1 for 4-2 player trade though as they have some promising young players that they shouldn’t want to get rid of. Bruno Caboclo is more than deserving of a roster spot and Ivan Rabb should have a roster spot locked up for the foreseeable future.
They easily could waive some of their veteran players and it’s also very possible that they’ll pull off multiple trades to even out the players on their roster. A trade with the Houston Rockets for Brandon Knight could easily include both JaMychal Green and Garrett Temple which would open up a roster spot.
They should also be more than willing to waive Shelvin Mack if they can’t find a trade partner for him. There may be a few playoff teams that would offer their late second-round pick or a future second-rounder to get more point guard depth.
Memphis can figure out those issues when they come out and it shouldn’t be a huge factor in making trades. They need to do what is best for them and if that includes having to waive a deserving player off their roster then that’s what it’ll take.
This potential trade with the Pistons is interesting. They have a lot of young players who haven’t found their groove in Detroit and could benefit greatly from a new team. Then on the flip side, we know that the Pistons are going to do everything they possibly can to make Blake Griffin happy. That starts by improving this roster so they can secure a playoff spot.
They are already locked into Griffin’s contract and it seems that they have no interest in trading him and starting a rebuild. Acquiring Conley doesn’t make them a championship contender, but it does likely get them into the playoffs.
This is one potential trade idea that these teams should explore. I would say that if Omri Casspi hadn’t recently suffered his injury it’s very possible he would be included rather than Mack.
The Pistons will need to give up their first-round pick to make this happen. It’s possible it could be top 12 or so protected but I would guess it is unprotected. In this deal, Detroit gets another star to go with Andre Drummond and Griffin but they also get a little bit more depth at the guard spot.
They have struggled to get consistent play from their backcourt so getting a guy who has been playing with Conley for half of a season they would definitely do that. Even if they aren’t high on Mack they still would open up another roster spot to pursue someone when the buyout market comes about.
The Grizzlies should be more than willing to bring on a couple of bad contracts as long as they get a first-round pick in addition to a young player in Kennard. This may not be enough to please all fans but this may be the best offer that they get.