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

1. Management knows trading means tanking, and they don’t want to do that

The Grizzlies have been a good basketball team since the 2010-11 season, going to the playoffs for seven years and a row and winning four playoff series throughout the tenure.

Memphis is not a huge basketball city; it’s a small market. The Grizzlies are not some team that prints off money because of the thousands of fans they have coming to the games, a lucrative TV deal or limitless corporate sponsors. They are not the Golden State Warriors.

In 2013, the Grizzlies were ranked by ESPN the Magazine as the top franchise in North America. ESPN senior writer Peter Keating said:

"“…they made the Western Conference Finals last year with the second-cheapest tickets in the NBA. That’s great ‘Bang for the Buck.’ Fans deeply identify with the players – ‘grit and grind’ is more than a slogan, it’s a way of life in Memphis.”"

Despite losing two of the most recognizable players during the Grit-N-Grind era, the Grizzlies still hold onto that slogan. It’s what has carried them to success in the past, it’s what resonates with fans and it’s what brings in money.

The recent acquisition of Justin Holiday was seen as a win-now trade. Holiday was supposed to fill in some of the Grizzlies’ offensive holes, but looks like he forgot how to shoot a basketball.

The team’s 2017-18 campaign was seen as a small blip in the radar. Mike Conley was hurt. Marc Gasol had an off year. A coaching change threw a wrench into the season. Chandler Parsons would surely be back.

The team was really bad, but it got them Jaren Jackson Jr. in the draft. Fans were willing to overlook the year as 2018-19 seemed to be brighter. That was, until the team fell back down to earth. They’re likely going to miss the playoffs, and then what?

Going back to Memphis on the management side, the team has struggled financially for years. Over the last decade, they have never ranked in the top half of the league in attendance,ranking just 17th during the glory years.

The Grizzlies have one of the lowest-paying TV deals and have largely operated at a deficit. A 2017 article from ESPN‘s Brian Windhorst and Zach Lowe showed the team has struggled financially over the last few years.

Things are murky when looking at the ownership, as nine months ago owner Robert Pera took majority control of the team after the bizarre built-in clause among the former ownership group. This came after reports that Pera’s company was suffering and questions over his long-term commitment to the team.

On the basketball side, if Memphis can still show fans it’s trying to win games, that’s better for the fans and the city. In last year’s tankathon, the Grizzlies’ attendance fell from 21st in the league to 26th. No one likes to lose money and long-term tanking mean lost money.

This is a team that is connected to its fans more than almost any other team in the country. They are going to retire the numbers of Tony Allen and Zach Randolph, for goodness sake — two players that won’t sniff the Hall of Fame and weren’t lifelong Grizzlies.

Other teams might see a trade to rebuild as a logical step, but it doesn’t appear like Grizzlies management sees it that way. They aren’t the Chicago Bulls or the Philadelphia 76ers, who have historical clout, or the Brooklyn Nets or Golden State Warriors, who have a big market. This is a team that needs to win or at least be in the conversation.

Bad play means an unhappy fanbase and unhappy management. Whatever the Grizzlies do, their current decisions will have ripple effects for years to come.