Memphis Grizzlies: NBA trade deadline recap

The Memphis Grizzlies were active players in a blitzkrieg of Woj Bombs over the past 36 hours. Where does Memphis stand after the dust has settled?

Another trade deadline has come and gone for the Memphis Grizzlies. This year, instead of aiming to dismantle a past-its-prime core, the Grizz were looking to augment an ahead-of-schedule rebuild. Heck of a difference twelve months can make.

Memphis held several dead-weight assets, and their new front office had been known for an itchy trigger finger. Zachary Kleiman made mass micro-deals en route to one of the NBA’s most impressive offseasons. He set the sequel up for high expectations.

First, obviously, was what to do with Andre Iguodala, whose inspiration of a recent Twitter beef had been his only contribution to Memphis this season.

This deal first broke Wednesday evening with Iguodala and Winslow as the only names. When Crowder and Hill were announced as late scratches hours later, more seemed to be afoot. Memphis now takes on over $28 million in mostly-useless salary for 2020-21, in Waiters Island and Johnson’s expiring deals. It’s a hefty price tag, but one Memphis can afford

Such are the luxuries when you have multiple future All-Stars on rookie deals. Memphis has little use for cap space this summer, with a weak free agency class and a growth curve to adjust to. Trying to “win now” too fast can put you in a sticky situation; just ask the Philadelphia 76ers. Overpaying in a weak market can do the same; just ask…well, Memphis.

The Grizzlies can thus roll over their cap space to 2021, which promises to be a much better market. By then, their core could be far more solid, with more specific needs, less growth to stunt, and an even more attractive basketball situation for targets.

Justise Winslow comes as a possible risky return with high upside. He had been highly marginalized in the Heat’s lineup, briefly breaking out as a point-forward last season. He’s a great fit as a secondary playmaker. Injuries and Jimmy Butler‘s arrival neutered any further development on Winslow’s part, but still just 23, he’s an unfinished project. At minimum, he has stretch-threat potential, and can guard multiple positions capably.

If the deal breaks right, Memphis could have a starting small forward that fits their timeline perfectly. But the “if” part is far from certain.

As Woj noted above, Memphis failed to recover any draft picks; now almost certainly giving their first-rounder to Boston in June.

A byproduct of Houston’s suddenly-urgent quest to rid themselves of centers. Bell had been acquired less than a day earlier in the Robert Covington/Clint Capela trade, but was cut loose.

While Mike D’Antoni and Daryl Morey’s possible collective last stand plays out, Memphis pockets more pivot insurance, while punting on the Caboclo reclamation project. Bruno had fallen out of the Grizzlies’ rotation, seeing limited minutes in just 22 games.

Bell meanwhile gives the Grizzlies greater positional diversity, clearing up their glut of forwards. He was a coveted prospect as recently as two years ago, but has struggled with consistency. Despite his limited range, he has immense potential on D, but his awareness has yet to catch up to his athleticism.

Perhaps there is upside left to be mined from Bell. In either outcome, both he and Caboclo play for pennies on expiring deals; cap implications are minimal.

Memphis also snares some long-term draft equity, gaining the upper hand on a pick swap of 2023 second-rounders:

Ever-dealing, Kleiman’s crew were far from finished, flipping James Johnson for Gorgui Dieng. The contracts are almost identical; both set to expire in 2021, with Dieng making a hair under 8% more next year.

At face value, this trade appears to be busy work; swapping low-impact role players with carbon-copy deals.

On paper, Dieng makes more sense for Memphis than Johnson, though slightly less with Bell’s arrival. Gorgui also showed signs of life during Karl Anthony-Towns’ recent absence, playing his best two-way ball in years.

It’s a marginal trade, but Dieng could still provide short-term value, and hedge if the high-variance Bell goes bust. His expiring deal can be peddled next year, or Memphis could simply take the $17million in cap space. There aren’t many bad outcomes here.

In Conclusion…

Memphis’ Trade Deadline was slightly risky, but a gamble they could afford to make. Playing with house money, and giving up little of importance, they added more utility and youth, while deferring their cap space for better targets.

Likely the day’s biggest news wasn’t even a trade at all: extending Dillon Brooks for 3 years/$35million, per Woj. This solidified the Grizzlies’ core through at least 2022, and gave Memphis the jump on possibly overpaying Brooks – a restricted free agent to-be – this summer.

The Memphis Grizzlies are betting that Justise Winslow can be a part of their long-term future, and that their fringe trades can help unearth value in lost causes, like Memphis has so many times before.

When your rebuild is going this well, this quickly, a couple well-timed risks can be afforded. Given the circumstances, these trades all seem fairly in line.

In a best-case scenario, Winslow rediscovers his momentum and becomes a Grizzlies fixture, while Bell brings high-energy niche play off the bench.

In a worst-case scenario, none of them pan out, and Memphis pushes ~$42 million more off the books – declining Winslow’s team option – into 2021.

The risk is low, and the upside could be high; it’s hard to argue with the Grizzlies’ deadline decisions.