JULY 7: The trade is official, the Hawks announced in a press release.
JULY 3: The Grizzlies and Hawks have agreed to a trade, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reports (via Twitter) that Memphis will send Chandler Parsons to Atlanta in exchange for Solomon Hill and Miles Plumlee.
Like the Hawks’ trade earlier this offseason of Kent Bazemore for Evan Turner, this deal will be a swap of expiring contracts and will be a virtual wash in terms of salary. Unlike that Bazemore/Turner trade though, it’s not clear if any of the players involved in this deal will actually see regular playing time in 2019/20.
Parsons, who will earn about $25.1MM next season, signed a four-year, maximum-salary contract with the Grizzlies during the summer of 2016, but battled injuries and failed to make an impact for the team during his three seasons in Memphis. In total, he appeared in just 95 games over three years, averaging 7.2 PPG and 2.6 RPG with a .393/.341/.779 shooting line.
Parsons and the Grizzlies had a particularly tumultuous year in 2018/19, with Parsons claiming in December that he was healthy and that the team was refusing to play him. He later took a leave of absence from the club.
According to Wojnarowski (via Twitter), the two sides were unable to reach an agreement on a buyout this summer, so Memphis will send Parsons to Atlanta, removing a potential distraction from the roster. As ESPN’s Bobby Marks points out (via Twitter), the mid-sized contracts of Plumlee and Hill will be easier for the Grizzlies to move in subsequent deals.
It remains to be seen if the Hawks believe Parsons has the ability to be an on-court contributor for them in 2019/20. Even if they don’t plan to play (or keep) him, there are a couple potential benefits for Atlanta. Moving two contracts for one will open up a roster spot, and Parsons’ salary is worth slightly less than the combined total of the salaries for Plumlee ($12.5MM) and Hill ($12.76MM).
A pair of separate trades will need to be completed before this one can be finalized. Hill is going from New Orleans to Atlanta in a trade involving the No. 4 pick, which in turn is part of the Pelicans’ Anthony Davis trade. The Pelicans/Lakers swap will need to be made official first, followed by the Pelicans/Hawks deal, then the Hawks/Grizzlies trade.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Aren’t they all just expiring deals? Why make the trade?
Parsons and Grizz needed a split. Now he can party and not play in Atlanta
Atlanta gets an open roster spot. Memphis gets players that can actually play?
Lol Miles Plumlee doesn’t play
True. Stupid contract Mil gave him based off I am guessing some per minute analysis. Add it to the list.
That’s it. Atlanta has compiled enough talent that each roster spot is valuable.
For the Grizzlies, the bottom of the bench is all totally replaceable.
Read the article or make your putdown & we can all move along. They’re all just contracts now.
I thought it was illegal to use Hill to match salary because they just got him. Do they have to make it a 3-team trade then?
NO!
It’s only illegal to flip a player right away and use him for salary-matching if you acquire him as an over-the-cap team. The Hawks will be taking Hill into cap room, so they’re allowed to aggregate his salary in a second deal right away.
Could make it a 3 way with Hill going to Memphis and Altanta getting something else from either Memphis or New Orleans.
I hope all these expiring contracts come to fruition next summer and turn into a big time free agent that Atlanta can never seem to lure in. Free agent class next year is pretty thin tho isn’t it?!..seems like a year too late for freeing up a bunch of cap space but hopefully I’m wrong
Not being involved in the free agent frenzy this year probably helps Atlanta.
Let’s face it, they weren’t going to lure the big name players away from the huge markets. Better to let the huge market teams overpay and next year the Hawks can get the pieces that they think might get them there. Atlanta has a much better shot at accomplishing that than getting the one or two superstars to sign each year.
I wonder if Charlotte could attach Bacon, a draft pick, or something else to Batum and send it to Atlanta for Parsons. That way they can get out of that terrible deal
Why bother? The Hornets already have $45 mil coming off the books next year with no one to spend it on.
The leaders of next year’s FA class are Draymond Green and Eric Gordon. Someone may blow up and move to the head of that class, but Charlotte – given the fact they suck – is an unlikely destination, any way.
The Hornets need to draft better and actually develop a player or two. And, oh yeah, once they stumble into an All-NBA guy that actually wants to be in Charlotte, NOT let him walk.
The Hornets front office is putrid.
They could attach Bacon, sausage, ham, pork chops, baby back ribs and every other succulent part of a pig and it wouldn’t be enough to get Atlanta to take Batum.
Easier to move 12.5M at the deadline than 25M. Griz could get a player they want.
Or an easier long term salary to take on along with a draft pick. Now instead of having to take a $25 million big mistake like Nicolas Batum along with a 1st, they could take two separate deals of smaller mistakes (Norman Powell? Will Barton? Dennis Schroder?) along with draft picks. Just so many more possibilities.
Combining the two expiring deals into one opens a roster spot for the Hawks which helps them immensely. Splitting their big expiring into 2 also helps the Grizzlies because it opens up so many more possibilities of adding draft picks at the deadline. It’s the ultimate win-win deal for two teams at different stages of a small market rebuild.
Memphis now have lots of veteran wings on average deals that are good trade pieces. Jae Crowder, Kyle Korver, Andre Iguodala, CJ Miles and Avery Bradley. Plus expiring contracts of Hill, Plumblee.
Expect them to be making a few more deals for young players or draft picks.
Parsons = the most overrated athlete in the history of sports. In every sport!
Um… Ryan Leaf…