Why the Memphis Grizzlies had no choice but to trade Grayson Allen

The Memphis Grizzlies only know how to do the offseason one way — full of surprises and leaving fans confused. Thus far, 2021 is no exception.

The Grizzlies front office threw the first curveball when they traded away Jonas Valanciunas and took on two huge contracts to move up seven spots in the 2021 NBA Draft. Now, Memphis is an objectively worse team and a fan-favorite player is gone. That said, this trade should work out in the long run.

They weren’t done there though. This week, Memphis decided to ship Grayson Allen off to the reigning NBA Champion Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for two second-round picks and Sam… um… wait, what was his name again?

Jokes aside, the Grizzlies traded Allen, a player who started for a significant portion of the 2020-21 season, for a pair of second-round picks and Sam Merrill, a guy who might never see the floor in Memphis.

If you take a closer look, this trade actually makes a lot of sense for the Memphis Grizzlies

On the surface, this is a bad trade. When you look at the value that Allen has brought to this city as an elite 3-point shooter and surprisingly explosive athlete, it should come as a shock to anybody that this would amount to a pair of second-round picks and a nobody for the Grizz.

But it’s not that simple.

Allen was a player who needed to be extended this offseason. With paydays on the horizon for Ja Morant and more pressingly, Jaren Jackson Jr., Allen was a low-priority player for Memphis. As much as it pains me to say it, it would have hurt the Grizz more than it would have helped them if they were to sign him to a long-term deal.

Look even closer and you see that Ziaire Williams, the Grizzlies’ first-round draft pick this season, will hopefully be filling the starting role down the road. Even though Memphis will likely ease him into the lineup, they’re hoping that he’ll be able to develop into a third star for the Grizz.

I bring this up because the Grizzlies are already committed to Dillon Brooks as the team’s small forward. Williams is filling into the shooting guard role, and with more minutes for him, Allen’s minutes would slowly diminish. There’s no way that either side of this situation would be able to find an agreement on a suitable long-term deal.

In short, the Grizzlies weren’t going to pay Allen for what he did in the past if he isn’t going to be doing it in the future.