4 Grizzlies trade targets who become eligible on Dec 15

Some NBA teams are reviewing the trade market with a sense of panic. They are playing well below their preseason expectations and have to make a change to try and right the ship before it’s too late. Other teams are coming to face the hard reality that they are a very different team than they thought, and deciding when to pull the plug and become sellers. The Memphis Grizzlies fall in neither camp.

They are having exactly the season they want to have, tied for first place in the Western Conference. Winners of six straight games, they are finding a path to winning even without Desmond Bane. Ja Morant is on track for an All-NBA nod, Jaren Jackson Jr. is in the All-Defensive mix, and they are seeing fruit from their player development system throughout the roster.

That gives the Grizzlies a leg up when approaching the trade market. They can evaluate players and make offers from a position of strength. They have no glaring needs and plenty of assets. Outside of zany trade ideas, their approach to the rumor mill is to find value on the margins.

The Memphis Grizzlies can pick and choose among those players newly eligible to trade.

On Dec. 15, all of the players who signed new free agent deals this past summer will become eligible to trade, and that will unofficially kick off in earnest the 2022-23 trade season. Here are four newly-eligible players the Grizzlies can consider trading for to address minor needs on the roster.