Memphis Grizzlies: Andre Iguodala trade scenarios

Best Case Scenario

Despite the struggles to move him, the Grizzlies are still reportedly secure in their belief that a trade will materialize before Thursday’s 3 p.m. deadline.

This has been an interesting season in the league as it relates to trades, as there’s only been one trade since the season began: the Minnesota Timberwolves moving Jeff Teague to the Atlanta Hawks for Allen Crabbe.

According to Ric Bucher of Bleacher Report, the Grizzlies tried moving Iguodala to the Milwaukee Bucks for the 2020 first round pick that Milwaukee obtained in the Indiana Pacers trade that happened last season. However, Bucher describes this trade as a “Rubik’s Cubesian” challenge when it comes to matching Iguodala’s $17 million salary.

The best case scenario, under all of these current trade conditions, would probably be a deal with the Bucks. The Bucks are at the top of the other conference, and are looking like the runaway favorites to come out of the East. An addition of Iguodala, while it may hurt a couple of the top-tier Eastern teams, would really help keep the competition in the West equal, and the chances of the Bucks and Grizzlies meeting in the playoffs are slim to none.

The problem with this is there’s almost no package that completely works. Numbers-wise, things work, but the returns the Bucks are getting for what they give up just never seem worth it. The best package seems like it’d be Robin Lopez and George Hill for Iguodala, but the Bucks would almost never do that, and if they did, there’s no chance they throw in a pick. Still, there a reportedly a number of teams that are still interested in a trade, which would help the Grizzlies greatly.