The Memphis Grizzlies made one of the more high-profile trades of the offseason when they decided to ship Jonas Valanciunas off to New Orleans in order to move up in the draft. In exchange for JV and their 17th-overall pick, they received the 10th-overall pick, which they would use to draft Ziaire Williams, a future first-round pick, Eric Bledsoe, and Steven Adams.
After a few days of fans believing that they’d be able to trade the 17th-overall pick in exchange for the Pels’ 10th pick and Eric Bledsoe, this deal actually came as a slight disappointment. That said, taking a step back, it was a pretty good deal for the Grizzlies.
Even though a lot of fans wanted Moses Moody at the 10th spot, the upper management in Memphis seems to do the same thing every year — draft and an unexpected player who exceeds expectations.
To get the player they wanted in the draft, the Memphis Grizzlies had to take a step back in the immediate future
Among the excitement of the NBA Draft, it was easy to get caught up in the Grizzlies’ young acquisitions and forget about the two veteran players that Memphis just nabbed. For starters, the Grizz now have Eric Bledsoe, who may not get trade after all.
More specifically, however, the Grizzlies switched their veteran big in Jonas Valanciunas for an objective downgrade in Steven Adams. That said, this isn’t necessarily a gigantic downgrade, as Adams has more than a handful of redeeming qualities.
Today, I’m going to discuss the pros and cons of having Steven Adams around as opposed to Jonas Valanciunas, starting with the cons. If you don’t want to read the negativity, feel free to skip to the third slide for the pros.