NBA Trades: Instant takeaways from trade between Pelicans and Grizzlies
By Duncan Smith
NBA trade takeaways for the Memphis Grizzlies
The Memphis Grizzlies find themselves with added depth in the backcourt thanks to the addition of Eric Bledsoe. He could either play alongside Morant at the two, or he could back Morant up at point guard. Most likely, he’ll end up doing some of both as a combo guard.
They also swap centers, trading Valanciunas for Adams. At this point, this swap is likely a minus move for the Grizzlies as Adams’ best days are likely behind him. The Grizzlies took on a heap of salary in this deal, adding $21 million to their books, essentially making this their free agency haul in its entirety.
These roster moves aren’t great, especially with the hefty price tag, but they did manage to move up seven spots in Thursday’s NBA draft; from 17th all the way up to 10th. This is wildly favorable for the Grizzlies because almost nobody drafts better than they do. With this boost, they may have a better chance to pick somebody under the radar whom they expect to be a star.
Maybe this is a quick stop for Bledsoe before getting shipped on somewhere else, or maybe the Grizzlies want to see how he plays with Morant. However, if all of this was just to move up in the draft, it’s an odd deal for Memphis.