With the NBA Summer League officially over, the NBA has entered its true offseason form, where the least amount of news is out. Free agency has died down as mostly minimum contract players and two-way contracts are the most pressing issues for most teams in the association around this time of the summer break.
A rumor from an unspecified source linked the Memphis Grizzlies and Boston Celtics in a deal potentially involving Anfernee Simons and Georges Niang to Memphis. ClutchPoints' Brett Siegel has since added context, stating "the two teams did not engage in trade talks at Summer League." He also added that Boston's pursuit of Damian Lillard likely led to the Celtics looking to offload Simons.
However, despite Damian Lillard making his way back to the Portland Trail Blazers, NBA correspondent Marc Stein reported that the Celtics are still looking to explore trade options for his former teammate. This should be of no interest to the Memphis Grizzlies at this moment for a couple of reasons.
Trading for Simons negates the Ty Jerome signing
The Grizzlies' first and only free agent move that didn't involve re-signing (Sanit Aldama), extending (Jaren Jackson Jr.), or promoting (Cam Spencer) their players internally was signing Ty Jerome away from the Cleveland Cavaliers with the mid-level room exception. Jerome was brought in to provide additional ball handling and shooting in the backcourt off the bench alongside Scotty Pippen Jr.
Trading for Simons would require the Grizzlies to likely trade some of their defensive versatility with someone like Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. The team had a downward trajectory defensively in the second half of last season, which led to them splitting up their backcourt of Ja Morant and Desmond Bane by trading Bane for Caldwell-Pope.
While Simon's offensive upside would give the Grizzlies an obvious third option on that end after Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr., his defense would offset his effectiveness for the team. As currently constructed, the Grizzlies have three double-digit scorers coming off the bench in Santi Aldama, Ty Jerome, and Scotty Pippen Jr., with other potential ones in GG Jackson Jr. and/or rookie Cedric Coward.
The team might lack a clear third option at the moment, but they have a collection of players who can play that role on any given night while having guys to lock in on the defensive end. There is no credence to these trade rumors involving the Grizzlies, and it will likely remain that way as the fit makes no sense after the offseason moves they have made to date.