The Memphis Grizzlies have been acquiring assets and trade chips to make a move for a big-name player to pair with Ja Morant ever since drafting him in 2019
A recent proposal from Bleacher Report has the Grizzlies making a play for superstar Bradley Beal. As expected, Memphis would have to part with most (if not all) of their best assets to bring Beal to Beale Street.
If the Memphis Grizzlies could pry away Beal from the Washington Wizards, it would be the biggest acquisition in franchise history.
Beal averaged 31.3 ppg last season and is a three-time NBA All-Star. The third overall 2012 NBA Draft pick would play brilliantly off the ball and allow Ja Morant to remain the primary ball-handler.
B/R writer Zach Buckley essential proposed two types of trade in his recent piece The first is centered around Jaren Jackson, Jr. and “a few lower-tiered assets.” It’s not specified what the lower-tiered assets might be, but we can have a good idea of what they might be since salaries would need to even out in the trade.
The Memphis Grizzlies, if they included JJJ in the package, would likely need to be locked into a long-term extension and to help make the salaries work. So, it’s hard to say what the exact package would look like. You could expect one of Jones, Melton, or Culver to likely fall off of this particular trade proposal and insert a couple of draft picks. It’s likely that draft picks would need to be included regardless.
Should a trade like this happen, you might see a Memphis Grizzlies starting lineup of: Ja Morant, Bradley Beal, Dillon Brooks, Brandon Clarke, and Steven Adams.
Another proposal, outlined by B/R, could be centered around Dillon Brooks and “top-tier trade chips like Desmond Bane, Brandon Clarke, Ziaire Williams, Xavier Tillman, and future first-round picks.”
That trade proposal might look something like this:
If this proposal were to go through, some envision the Memphis Grizzlies starting: Ja Morant, Bradley Beal, Ziaire Williams, Kyle Anderson, and Jaren Jackson, Jr.
Memphis would likely need some kind of assurance that Beal would want to resign with the Grizzlies long-term since they would be unloading a ton of assets to acquire him.
For the Grizzlies, their best chance at landing a star player is going to be via trade and Beal is just the kind of player worth going all-in on to pair with franchise cornerstone Ja Morant.