3 teams Grizzlies could trade No. 9 pick to ahead of 2024 NBA Draft

Rumor has it, the Memphis Grizzlies are interested in shopping their lottery pick ahead of the 2024 NBA Draft.

After falling to the ninth overall selection despite wrapping up this past season with the seventh-worst record in the association, ESPN's Zach Lowe revealed that there is serious chatter regarding Zach Kleiman and company's drive to shop the pick, as they are gearing up for next year's campaign with a title-hopeful mentality and, in turn, are more interested in ready-made players than raw prospects.

Teams Memphis Grizzlies could realistically trade 2024 NBA Draft pick to

Of course, at the end of the day, regardless of if they nab a player with experience in the association or not, in the event that the Grizzlies do trade the ninth overall selection, getting fair value in exchange is obviously the primary objective and, when looking around the league, there are a few teams, in particular, who could provide them with exactly that in a hypothetical transaction.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Following their recent semifinal elimination against the Boston Celtics, reports have been heavily circulating that the Cavaliers could be looking to make some significant shakeups to their roster this offseason, with ESPN's Brian Windhorst revealing that the ball club will likely be "looking at possible Jarrett Allen trades."

Should this prove to be the case, and Cleveland ends up placing their franchise big on the block, the Grizzlies must dial up Koby Altman to offer up the number nine pick and then some for his services.

Since the conclusion of their regular season, it has been discussed ad nauseam that Memphis needs to try and address their center position before the start of 2024-25, with Zach Kleiman noting in his exit interview that "we see the value of having a more traditional or true big" within the rotation.

Without question, Allen is a player who fits this description, and his enviable age of 26 only makes him more of an interesting option to have paired with Jaren Jackson Jr. within the frontcourt and alongside Ja Morant and Desmond Bane in the starting five.

Throughout his seven-year career, Allen has established himself as an All-Star big who excells at swatting shots, gobbling boards, and finishing at the rim.

In other words, attributes the Grizzlies could use down at the pivot.

While playing 77 games this past season, the big man went on to put forth yet another impressive campaign, as he averaged 16.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.1 blocks while shooting a highly efficient 63.4 percent from the field.

Of course, landing such a talent wouldn't be as simple as just a straight swap involving the number nine pick, as his contract figures (owed $40 million over the next two seasons) and Cleveland's desires to remain competitive (assuming they hold onto Donovan Mitchell, that is) must all be factored in when discussing such a scenario.

However, the idea of sending out several players to both match salaries and fill out the club's rotation (Marcus Smart, Luke Kennard, Brandon Clarke, etc.) along with the lottery pick and perhaps another lower-level selection could be seen as a worthwhile move for both parties to make.