Memphis Grizzlies: Re-grading Patrick Beverley trade with the Timberwolves

The Memphis Grizzlies have had a long string of trades this offseason. None of them have involved any star players, though the very first deal involving Jonas Valanciunas and Steven Adams made some waves in the league for a few weeks.

Generally speaking, the deals that the Grizzlies have made have been difficult to interpret immediately. Five of the players that Memphis traded for are no longer on the roster, meaning that many of the deals were a means to an end.

As a result, it’s easier to interpret some of these weeks, even months, after the fact. There may be no better example of this than the Grizzlies’ deal with the Timberwolves, which netted them two players in exchange for one who was never part of this team’s long-term plan. Here’s the trade.

The Memphis Grizzlies’ deal with the Timberwolves had a high ceiling and low floor

When I first heard about this deal, I was a bit heartbroken. I won’t say that I liked Patrick Beverley, but it would have been fun to watch a Beverley-Dillon Brooks-Steven Adams trio on the court, potentially starting a new fight on a weekly basis. That said, Beverley would have been the oldest player on the team. Logically, he didn’t fit on this Grizz squad.

In return, they pulled in Jarrett Culver, a player who is widely considered one of the bigger NBA Draft busts in recent memory, and Juancho Hernangomez, a solid role player who was later traded away.