Trade proposal sees Grizzlies give up on former lottery pick

Considering their average age on the roster coupled with their impressive assortment of established and continually rising star talents, the Memphis Grizzlies are a team set up to win both in the now as well as for the many years to come.

What makes the club’s current makeup all the more exciting, however, is the fact that they could easily further strengthen their claim to a championship bid by making a splash on the trade market, which, per Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype, is a real possibility with their respective collection of assets.

That said, Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley seems to believe the Grizzlies should consider using one of said assets in a move to collect more future-oriented luxuries, as he constructed a trade that would send Ziaire Williams to the Houston Rockets.

Trade proposal sees Grizzlies send Ziaire Williams to the Houston Rockets

The hypothetical exchange would go as follows:

Highlighting Houston’s youth-driven core (aside from recent offseason arrivals in Fred VanVleet and former Grizzlies wing Dillon Brooks, of course), Buckley believes they may be open to bringing on yet another green talent to add to their collection, and Williams could, in turn, be an intruiging option for them to pursue.

"“…if Houston has a chance to expand its young core, it should. This deal might do exactly that. The word “might” is needed there, as Williams has yet to establish himself as a long-term building block. Still, the 2021 No. 10 pick has time on his side. He just turned 22 years old on Sept. 12, and he has yet to log 2,000 minutes in the NBA,” Buckley wrote.“The odds of him hitting his ceiling might not be as high as they initially seemed, but his potential as a 6’8″ featured scorer who contributes on defense has a non-zero chance of coming to fruition.”"

Throughout his two-year tenure with the Grizzlies, the former lottery pick has shown flashes of why he was so highly coveted by the franchise back in 2021. With his combination of size and natural athleticism, Williams possesses the innate tools necessary to become a sound option at the wing in the NBA.

Unfortunately, since entering the association, the 22-year-old finds himself boasting underwhelming averages of 7.2 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.0 assists while shooting 44.4 percent from the field which, considering his lofty draft status along with the team’s desires to win in the now, have some already suggesting Memphis should be willing to give up on his development as a result.

However, despite only coming in flashes, Williams has showcased some potential as a starting option, as he averaged 12.8 points, 2.8 assists, and 2.5 rebounds while shooting a highly efficient 53.8 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from distance through 37 games slotted into the first five lineup in 2022-23.

Though he may be far from an untradable commodity on Memphis’ roster, if GM Zach Kleiman and company were to ship him outbound, one would hope they’d try their hand and selling higher on his recent draft status and untapped potential than by bringing on a return package of two future seconds and, with all due respect, a 2018 undrafted free agent in Jae’Sean Tate.

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