Memphis Grizzlies: 4 takeaways from the 2019 NBA Trade Deadline

4. It looks like they are trying to keep their pick

The Grizzlies’ 2019 NBA Draft situation is far from clear, as their first round pick is owed to the Boston Celtics, but is top-8 protected. Right now, the Grizzlies sit sixth in the lottery standings, meaning they would keep their pick this year if everything went according to plan.

The Grizzlies are not going to catch the bottom-feeders in terms of losses, but are sandwiched with the Washington Wizards, Orlando Magic, New Orleans Pelicans, Detroit Pistons, Minnesota Timberwolves and Dallas Mavericks. All of these teams are within three games of each other.

The Wizards are now in tank mode after trading away Otto Porter Jr. and the only team really chasing the playoffs out of this group is the Pistons. Depending on how the rest of the season goes, other teams could try and throw in the towel at the end.

Getting back to the Grizz, their moves at the deadline don’t propel them to be better, or make them significantly worse, but seemed to be a more lateral move. The trade for Marc Gasol went down like this:

The Grizzlies were originally searching for cap space, young players and draft picks. This trade nets them two (kind of) out of three. Both Jonas Valanciunas and C.J. Miles have player options for next year that they will likely pick up. Delon Wright is a young player who will be a restricted free agent this year and the Grizzlies are going to have to pay him to keep him.

This trade doesn’t put them in a tanking position, but keeps them in the better group of the lottery teams.

Valanciunas is still a solid center who is a significantly better rebounder than Gasol and will help the team’s rebounding woes, where they rank 27th in the league in rebound percentage. Memphis will certainly miss Gasol’s ability to pop in the pick-and-roll, as Valanciunas takes roughly one 3-pointer a game, hitting just 30 percent of those shots.

JV is a heady defender as well, leading the league in defensive rating among centers this year. A large part of that was playing in Toronto’s system, but he should fit in nicely with Memphis’ defensive-oriented team focus.

Valanciunas hasn’t played since early December when he dislocated his thumb, but should be ready to play for the Grizzlies immediately.

Miles is another injured Raptor who has just suited up once in the past two weeks. After seemingly forgetting how to shoot the 3-ball at the beginning of the year, Miles has turned it around, shooting 55.7 percent since the new year. That kind of shooting is unsustainable, but his 3-point abilities will blend well with a team that just gave up five of its eight best 3-point shooters.

Delon Wright is the young asset here, as the four-year man out of Utah had seen his minutes take a dip this year, often being passed up for Fred VanVleet in the rotation.

Wright has struggled to put it together in his time in Toronto, and a change of scenery may be good for him. His shooting numbers have fallen since coming into the league and he’s oft been plagued by injuries. He’ll be the primary backup now that Shelvin Mack is off the team.

However, Wright came into the league as an older rookie and will turn 27 this April.