The Memphis Grizzlies had been having a quiet offseason until this week when they seemingly packed an entire year of news into a 24-hour span. Memphis kicked things off with the New Orleans Pelicans by completing the biggest trade of the year thus far.
If you’re not caught up on the trade, you can read about that here. Then you should probably click on the last 5-6 articles posted on this site — a lot has happened.
Memphis followed this with an announcement that they weren’t necessarily happy with the 10th pick, meaning that they were likely to trade up even further. Then, an announcement surfaced that Eric Bledsoe would not be playing in Memphis at all. This wasn’t a huge surprise but it was still news.
Oh, you thought that was it? The Grizzlies followed all of this with an announcement that was truly unexpected — they’d be putting Tyus Jones on the trade block.
The Memphis Grizzlies trading Tyus Jones hints at what they’ll be looking to accomplish in the 2021 NBA Draft
Jones going to the trade block isn’t necessarily a particularly upsetting bit of news. That said, it seems like a strange thing to do, especially considering how much value he has brought to the Grizzlies as Ja Morant’s backup. The former Duke guard has been arguably the best backup point guard in the NBA in the past couple of seasons.
That said, he does have an expiring contract after the 2021 season, so maybe Memphis didn’t want to pay him more than the $8 million that he’ll earn next season. Regardless, Jones to the trade block will lead Grizzlies fans into believing that their organization is looking at two specific players.
Before you get into the article, I’d like to specify that this article is written under the hypothetical that the Grizzlies are looking for another point guard or ball-handler. That may not necessarily be the case, as trading up would likely send them into forward/wing range.