Memphis Grizzlies: How to Address the Small Forward Surplus

The Memphis Grizzlies have a surplus of small forwards on their roster. How will they resolve that issue following a series of trades and other movements?

It is July 4th and we now all live in a smoggy, post-apocalyptic wasteland after watching Woj bomb after Woj bomb rain down from heaven earlier this week, altering the NBA landscape irreparably. Virtually every big-name free agent except Kawhi Leonard has signed with a team, the Memphis Grizzlies made some big moves, and if you are reading this, the New York Knicks will probably offer you a multi-year contract to play in Madison Square Garden. The long and troubled Chandler Parsons era is over in Memphis, but as of now, the Grizzlies still find themselves with an excess of roster players, especially at the small forward position.

Before we dive into how the Grizzlies will deal with this surplus, allow Beale Street Bears to examine the two big moves the Grizzlies have made within the past 24 hours. First, Memphis sent Parsons to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for small forward/shooting guard Solomon Hill and power forward/center Miles Plumlee.

In what was essentially a salary trade-off, the Grizzlies broke up Parsons’ behemoth of a contract into two contracts that can more easily be included in a potential trade. This is a win for the Grizzlies; Hill and Plumlee may never actually wear a Memphis jersey, but putting the worst contract in franchise history behind them and removing a potential blight from the locker room is more valuable than numbers can suggest.

A few hours later, the Grizzlies sent Kyle Korver and Grizzlies sweetheart Jevon Carter to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Josh Jackson, De’Anthony Melton, and two future picks. Jackson, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2017 draft, underperformed in Phoenix, averaging 12.3 points and 4.5 rebounds in two seasons.

Memphis will hope to resurrect the former lottery pick’s potential in the Bluff City, and Melton, who started 31 games with Phoenix at point guard in his rookie season, is a solid option at backup point guard for the Grizzlies, as well as an insurance policy in the event that Delon Wright is signed by another team.

On to the surplus. First, a disclaimer: I am not posing this as being a bad problem for Memphis. The Grizzlies are in rebuild mode for the immediate future, and any excess of good roster players can be converted to cap space and draft picks by a savvy front office. Grizzlies fans got a taste of this savvy front office work earlier yesterday with the trade haul from Phoenix, which included a second-round pick and a conditional pick. The surplus is, however, an issue that needs to be sorted out as Memphis triages its needs this offseason.

On the first night of NBA Free Agency, the Grizzlies acquired three-time NBA Champion and former Finals MVP Andre Iguodala from the Golden State Warriors. The details of that transaction can be found here, but the broad-strokes breakdown is that the Grizzlies agreed to take on Iguodala’s $17.2 million contract next season in exchange for a future draft pick. With the addition of Iguodala to the roster (as well as the new additions today from Atlanta and Phoenix), the Grizzlies now have eight players under contract who are listed at small forward. What should we make of all of the options at small forward?