NBA Trade Deadline: Grizzlies Send Hornets Courtney Lee In 3-Team Deal

The 2016 NBA Trade Deadline heated up in a hurry Tuesday, with the Memphis Grizzlies sending Courtney Lee to the Charlotte Hornets in a three-team trade involving the Miami Heat.

In the second deal of the new NBA trade season, the Memphis Grizzlies have shipped Courtney Lee to the Charlotte Hornets in a three-team deal involving the Miami Heat, as first reported by The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

According to Woj, the Grizzlies will be receiving P.J. Hairston and two second round picks from Charlotte and Chris Andersen and two second round picks from the Heat — with one being heavily protected.. Miami will be taking on backup point guard Brian Roberts.

Chris Herrington of the Memphis Commercial Appeal confirmed the Grizzlies would be getting four second round picks — two from Charlotte and two from Miami — in the deal.

For the Grizzlies, giving up the team’s best three-point shooter (37.0 percent this season) may seem like an arbitrary move, but Lee probably had the most value out of Memphis’ impending free agents this summer, so cashing in on his value with Hairston, four second round picks and an experienced frontcourt banger like Andersen is not the worst deal in the world.

The Birdman is averaging a negligible 1.9 points and 1.3 rebounds in 5.1 minutes per game this season, however. He’s only played in seven games this season and is currently sidelined with a knee injury.

Hairston is only a career 30.7 percent three-point shooter, but he’s also only 23 years old and has averaged 6.4 points and 2.8 rebounds per game in his 43 starts this season. He still has potential as a 3-and-D player, and though the early returns have been less than encouraging, he’s still only in his second season.

The four draft picks will be useful in helping Memphis negotiate other trades before the Feb. 18 deadline or before the 2016 NBA Draft and free agency.

However, trading a talented player like Lee also comes with possible ripple effects. The Grizzlies have already lost Marc Gasol indefinitely to a broken foot, and though they’re currently sitting in fifth place in the Western Conference standings, the loss of their best player (and now Lee’s departure) will hinder this team’s ability to win games.

This is less than ideal, since the Grizzlies’ 2016 first round draft pick goes to the Denver Nuggets if it falls in the 6-14 range. Memphis is still five games ahead of the ninth place team in the West (Houston), but they didn’t get much immediate help in this trade to stop the bleeding. If Memphis falls out of their playoff spot, there’s a good chance Denver will net their pick, even if this year’s draft class is not particularly deep.

Adding Lee (10.0 PPG, 45.8 percent shooting) to the Hornets’ rotation is a tremendous move that helps Charlotte on both ends of the floor. With Nicolas Batum healthy but Michael Kidd-Gilchrist injured again, Lee is a natural fit at the 2-spot who can spread the floor and defend his position on the other end, bolstering the team’s roster for a playoff run.

For the Heat, trading more future draft picks is less than advisable, almost as if Pat Riley is all in on this current team with the full knowledge that he may not be around in a few years. This is mostly a cost-cutting move, taking the Heat down a notch in the luxury tax:

But Miami does have need for a backup point guard as well, with Tyler Johnson injured and Beno Udrih being a less than inspiring fill-in behind Goran Dragic.

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Roberts is only averaging 4.8 points and 1.3 assists in 11.1 minutes per game in Charlotte this season, but he’s been buried in the rotation behind Kemba Walker and Jeremy Lin, who are both arguably having career seasons. He also comes off the books this summer — a wise move for the Heat, who will have their hands full re-signing their own free agents this summer.