Memphis Grizzlies: 3 reasons to stand pat at 2019 NBA Trade Deadline

We’re just weeks away from the trade deadline and the Memphis Grizzlies have some big decisions on their hands. Here’s why they shouldn’t make any moves.

To start, let’s be clear on one thing. For the Memphis Grizzlies, trading = tanking.

For the Grizzlies 2018-19 team thesaurus, “Trade Deadline Trades” yields the following results: tanking, blowing it up, starting over, rebuilding, adios Marc Gasol ha sido un placer, and jumping on the Jaren Jackson Jr. train.

The Grizzlies started off the season on a high note, going 12-5 and even holding first place in the Western Conference for a brief people of time. Things have gone south in a hurry though, as the team sits at 19-25 and looks like it’s going to miss the playoffs for the second straight season.

Memphis seems headed to its dark times, like when the owner’s wife was helping make player personnel decisions.

Lots of people are eyeing Memphis as a “blow-it-up” team, but that’s a lot easier said than done. Unfortunately, you can’t just boot up NBA 2K, click the “find trades” button, and receive fair compensation in return.

This is not a team that is one move away from being a complete team, or two moves away really. Paraphrasing the timeless Fran Fraschilla quote, they are two moves away from being two moves away, and even that isn’t really enough.

The two players that are drawing the most focus are the two stars of the team: Marc Gasol and Mike Conley. Like everything that happens in the FedEx Forum, the conversation usually starts and ends with the Grizzlies cornerstones.

But Memphis shouldn’t be players here, and should stand its ground by not making any significant moves and riding the last bits of the Grit-N-Grind train to the end. Here are three reasons why.