The Memphis Grizzlies made a trade with the New Orleans Pelicans earlier in the offseason that turned a lot of heads. The Grizz sent Jonas Valanciunas to the Pelicans and took on two huge contracts in order to move up to the 10th spot in the draft. One of those big contracts was attached to Eric Bledsoe, who didn’t have a fit on this Grizzlies team.
But Memphis wasn’t done there.
They’d shock the world again by trading for Patrick Beverley, Rajon Rondo, and Daniel Oturu. For what, you ask? Eric Bledsoe, a player who had no fit on the team and already had intentions of playing elsewhere next season. To be blunt, the Grizzlies just performed highway robbery on the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Memphis Grizzlies just formed the scariest defensive lineup in the entire league
I’ll get into more specifics on the trade later, including why Rajon Rondo was a great pickup for this team and whether or not both of these guys will even be on the team next season. That said, right now, I’ll be focusing on the other player that has been brought over to Memphis in Patrick Beverley.
Beverley may not have ever been an NBA All-Star but he does have something of value for the Grizz — notoriety.
The former Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Clippers guard is known as one of the most pest-like players in the entire league. He’s in the same category as players like Lance Stephenson, Draymond Green, Matthew Dellavedova, and a handful of others. Even so, Beverley stands above the rest.
This bodes well for the Grizzlies, who have the NBA’s next emerging love-or-hate defensive pest in Dillon Brooks. Brooks was relatively unknown before the 2020-21 season but stepped up as the Grizzlies’ go-to defender. He’s the type of guy who isn’t necessarily the greatest defender in the world but manages to get into opposing players’ heads. The best example is likely his encounter with Damian Lillard, a player who never opens his mouth to jaw at other players in-game. Brooks was the exception.
With all due respect to Brooks, Beverley is one of few players in the league who is actually better at this. The reason why this is so important is simple — Brooks now has a mentor who can help him become an even better trash-talking, elite defender.
This is only a supplementary part of the same Grizzlies offseason that brought in Steven Adams, another love-or-hate defensive specialist. Adams has been known to get into it on the court with anybody who will have him, including LeBron James, who received a technical foul after an altercation with the Kiwi center.
There’s no other way to put it — a lineup with Patrick Beverley, Dillon Brooks, and Steven Adams will be a thing of beauty for Grizzlies fans and a terrifying sight for everybody else. Even though Memphis might struggle to score the ball, who is going to be able to consistently score on this team?
The Grizzlies may have just created the scariest defensive trio in the league.