Memphis Grizzlies: Ranking the team’s recent trades
By Ethan Becker
5. February 6th, 2020: The Gorgui Dieng trade
This year’s trade deadline was an active one for the Grizzlies. Not only were they able to rid themselves of Andre Iguodala, but they also swapped James Johnson for Gorgui Dieng.
At the time of the trade, it seemed like a pretty smart move by the Grizzlie. Dieng showed a lot of promise as a starter on the Minnesota Timberwolves, but the Wolves needed to move him to make room for a D’Angelo Russell trade.
However, at this point, it now seems like the Grizzlies got the short end of the stick on this move. Dieng hasn’t been awful, but he certainly hasn’t played the same role on Memphis that he did on Minnesota.
Currently, Dieng has averaged 7.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per game since joining the Grizzlies. Concurrently, Johnson has averaged 12.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks per game on the Timberwolves.
It would be interesting to see what Johnson could have done on his second run with the Grizzlies, this time playing with Jonas Valanciunas as his low-block partner. Johnson’s play could have helped the Grizzlies get through the tough post-All Star break run when they were dealing with injuries.