7 players the Memphis Grizzlies gave up on too soon

4. SF/PF DeMarre Carroll

After being selected 27th overall in the 2009 NBA Draft, the Grizzles didn’t keep DeMarre Carroll round for very long, trading him to the Rockets 12 games into his sophomore season. While it Carroll would bounce around for a couple of seasons, he’d eventually stick with the Atlanta Hawks in 2013.

There, and with a couple of other teams, he would maintain his role as an incredibly solid role player for six seasons before injuries would cut his career short. While Carroll wasn’t anything crazy, adding a player like this to a prime Grit and Grind Grizzlies team could have helped out a lot.

From 2013 to 2019, Carroll would average 11.4 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game while shooting 43.1% from the field and 36.4% from three on 4.5 attempts. Alongside this, Carroll was also a very solid and versatile defender, something that would’ve fit incredibly with Memphis at the time.

The two-way play Carroll brought to the court was very valuable to the Hawks and Raptors in the midst of their early 2010’s playoff runs. We can only imagine how well this would have worked out with the Grizzlies if they hadn’t opted to trade him so early in his career.