2016 NBA Trade Deadline Grades For All 30 Teams

Memphis Grizzlies

The Memphis Grizzlies had an interesting trade deadline, to say the least. With Marc Gasol out for the foreseeable future, Mike Conley heading toward free agency this summer and Memphis’ 2016 first-rounder most likely heading to Denver if it falls in the 6-14 range, the Grizz were stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Did they blow it up, trade Conley and Zach Randolph for whatever assets they could get their hands on and rebuild around Big Spain next year? Did they keep the core intact and trade one of their expiring wings for help to keep them in the playoff picture? After the trade deadline, the answer is…well, I don’t know really.

In the team’s first deal, the Grizzlies participated in that three-team Courtney Lee trade, sending their talented two-way wing to Charlotte while receiving P.J. Hairston and four second round picks (two from the Hornets, two from the Heat) in return. They also got Chris Andersen from Miami in a salary dump.

Hairston is only 23 years old, so even though the early returns of his NBA career haven’t been great (6.0 points in 19.5 minutes per game, .359/.314/.810 shooting splits this season), Dave Joerger will have a chance to turn him into the 3-and-D player he was projected to be. He’s amounts to a flier worth taking, a low-risk, medium-reward kind of proposition.

As for the Birdman, he’s virtually useless at this point. At age 37, he only played in seven games for the Heat this season, averaging 1.9 points and 1.3 rebounds per game. But he brings toughness and a veteran presence to a team known for both of those attributes.

In Memphis’ other deal, the front office swindled the Grizzlies into giving up a future first round draft pick for Jeff Green, another expiring contract. The Grizzlies will have to take on Lance Stephenson, but the last year of his contract is a $9.4 million team option that Memphis can always decline if things don’t work out.

Born Ready is only averaging 4.7 points and 2.5 rebounds per game this season and has been on a steady decline since leaving the Pacers, but he’s still only 25 years old and might rediscover his groove playing for a similarly gritty defensive team like the one he enjoyed playing for in Indiana.

The first round pick owed to Memphis is lottery-protected in 2019 and 2020, and if it’s not conveyed in those two years, it becomes a 2022 second round pick, per ESPN’s Zach Lowe.

All in all, the Grizzlies walk away with a player whose team option could be declined if he doesn’t work out (Stephenson), another whose $5 million contract comes off the books this summer (Andersen), one future first round draft pick and as many as four second-rounders.

That’s not a bad haul, but we should also note that the Grizzlies have completely gutted their wing rotation in the process, leaving them with a Tony Allen-Matt Barnes-Zach Randolph-Lance Stephenson-Chris Andersen contingent that could lead the league in technical fouls and broken bones and, uh, “personality.”

The goal now should be for the Grizzlies to make the playoffs, but just barely, in order to maximize the value of their first round pick this year.

It’ll be tough for Memphis to hang on to their playoff spot the longer Gasol stays out, especially since there’s virtually zero perimeter shooting on this team now. But the Grizz fared pretty well in each individual deal, even if the bigger picture is a tad worrisome now.

Grade: C+

Next: Miami Heat