Trade proposal sends $94 million sharpshooter to Grizzlies

The Memphis Grizzlies are a team looking to thrust themselves into the legitimate title contender conversation heading into 2023-24. That said, when examining their current collection of talent it’s evident that the club could still use more firepower within head coach Taylor Jenkins’ rotation.

Though fans and media pundits have varying opinions of what, exactly, GM Zach Kleiman and company should be looking to add to Memphis’ arsenal as we inch closer to the regular season, during a recent episode of the Locked on Grizzlies podcast, hosts Joe Mullinax and Damichael Cole discussed the idea of seeing the Grizzlies strike a deal for Indiana Pacers guard, Buddy Hield.

Trade proposal would send Indiana Pacers guard Buddy Hield to Grizzlies

While backcourt depth isn’t viewed as a real concern for the team considering they already roster Marcus Smart, Desmond Bane, and, once he returns from suspension, superstar Ja Morant, both hosts agreed to the belief that Memphis “can’t get enough scoring” off the bench, which is why pursuing the $94 million sharpshooter on the last year of his contract could be worthwhile.

As the episode progressed, Mullinax would go on to discuss one particular proposal he believes the front office should consider offering for the 30-year-old’s services.

Citing the underachieving ways of Ziaire Williams since being selected 10 overall back in 2021 and questions revolving around Brandon Clarke’s ability to fully recover from his torn Achilles, despite their respective allure and endearment to the fanbase, Mullinax believes this to be a move well worth making for the Grizzlies.

"“I have a first-round pick, the one that the Grizzlies acquired recently via Phoenix or Washington, the one that’s worse of the two in 2024 — a protected first-round pick [and] it doesn’t necessarily have to be that one. Ziaire Williams…to me, he just doesn’t fit what they’re trying to do. And then Brandon Clarke,” Mullinax said. “I question how well he’s going to recover. I worry that it’s $50 million of dead money in terms to what he used to be because he’s so dependent on his ability to leap and re-leap and get off the ground very quickly and the Achilles is kind of important for that.”"

As noted during the episode, the Grizzlies are in a win-now mode following the acquisition of Marcus Smart and have several areas within their scheme that still could use some improvement.

One of said areas relates to their long-range shooting capabilities, as they ranked eighth-worst in the association when shooting from deep (35.1) despite hoisting up the 11-most attempts per game at 34.2.

Hield is a pure shooter who, in 2022-23, posted impressive per-game averages of 16.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.2 steals while shooting a highly efficient 45.8 percent from the field and 42.5 percent from deep on a whopping 8.5 attempts per night.

Should the ball club wish to boost its shooting and scoring arsenal off the pine, a talent such as the soon-to-be eight-year pro could be a sound option to consider, and Mullinax believes to have concocted to perfect trade package to acquire him.

3 Grizzlies currently on the hot seat heading into 2023-24

There are three members of the Memphis Grizzlies who, coming into the 2023-24 season, could be argued as having rather hot seats.