NBA Trades: Four teams that could make realistic offers for Kevin Durant

NBA Trades: Memphis accelerates the quest for its first title.

Similarly to Toronto, the Memphis Grizzlies are uniquely positioned to trade a handful of impact players in a deal and still compete for the title. One of the best organizations at drafting and developing players over the last half-decade, Memphis boasts a lively rotation with even more prospects waiting on the wing for their shot at NBA minutes. Building around superstar-in-the-making Ja Morant, the Grizzlies’ meteoric rise to the top of the Western Conference was predicated on a culture that fits nicely with Kevin Durant’s personality.

No matter how the deal is constructed, the Grizzlies will have to part with players they’d prefer to keep in any Durant trade. But if they were to pivot toward building a contender around the duo of Durant and Morant, it’s more about picking the best of a difficult situation and figuring the rest out through development, free agency and chemistry.

Trading Jaren Jackson Jr. at this stage of his career would be a tough pill to swallow, but a necessary evil to make this Durant deal work. Not only is his $28.9 million salary a key financial component in the trade, but Jackson Jr.’s theoretical fit with Simmons would entice Brooklyn; possibly lowering the asking price on draft compensation. Also included are Dillon Brooks, a good but not great rotation piece with a hard-nosed, physical play style, and Brandon Clarke, a hoops statistician’s darling with excellent touch near the rim and mobility at the four.

Keeping breakout two-guard Desmond Bane out of a Durant trade would be a massive win for the Grizzlies, ensuring a Morant-Bane-Ziare Williams-Durant-Steven Adams lineup that could go toe-to-toe with any team in either conference. The more important question for the Grizzlies’ front office is ‘Will a Durant trade be worth breaking up all that was built over the last five years?’

That’s a question for another day.