The Grizzlies had two options at the trade deadline, according to Damichael Cole of Memphis Commercial Appeal: push their chips in for a star to bolster their chances at a title or create cap flexibility. Memphis ended up opting for the latter route, sending Marcus Smart and Jake LaRavia out in a move that returned the expiring contracts of Marvin Bagley III and Johnny Davis.
According to Grizzlies general manager Zach Kleiman, the Grizzlies did explore making a move for a star player, but none of the ones they were interested in ended up being moved. Memphis was reportedly attached to Jimmy Butler at one point, but Kleiman was “not sure” why his team was a rumored destination.
Butler’s camp advised the Grizzlies not to pursue him, according to reports from January. Meanwhile, ESPN analyst Bob Myers indicated that Kevin Durant told the Grizzlies “no” in regards to potentially trading for him. Kleiman pushed back on the notion that star players wouldn’t want to play for the Grizzlies.
“I think there are misconceptions about Memphis,” Kleiman said. “I think we have a group of guys in Ja (Morant), (Desmond Bane) and Jaren (Jackson Jr.) that star players would love to play with.”
As for the moves they did make, the Grizzlies felt comfortable trading away Smart because guards/wings Jaylen Wells, Scotty Pippen Jr. and Vince Williams Jr. could handle being primary wing defenders and secondary ball handlers.
The Grizzlies attached a first-round pick to move Smart and LaRavia after spending two firsts to acquire Smart and selecting LaRavia 19th overall in 2022. Still, the Grizzlies feel Smart helped play a significant role in the growth of the team, Cole writes.
“We made a move that so far to date, hadn’t worked,” Kleiman said. “I’d much rather own that myself. That starts with me. You cut your losses on a move, and we put ourselves in best position to build the team going forward.”
As for LaRavia, the Grizzlies weren’t in a position to play him when at full health, so they opted to send him somewhere he can have a chance to contribute. Kleiman expressed confidence in the young guys they have under team control for multiple years moving forward.
While Davis’ future with the Grizzlies is “TBD” according to Kleiman, Cole writes Bagley is on his way to Memphis and will seemingly stick around with the team. If the team were to move on from Davis, it would open up a roster spot to either pursue a buyout option or promote a two-way player.
According to Cole, if the Grizzlies don’t win it all this year, they feel the deadline helped set them up for more flexibility in the summer to pursue big moves. Still, Memphis fully believes its window is right now with its core headlined by Morant, Bane, and Jackson.
“We’re taking seriously what this group can achieve right here and right now,” Kleiman said. “I think the competitive window with Ja, Des and Jaren entering the heart of their careers is here, and there’s a lot of belief in what we have on the court. We firmly believe we’re in the mix.“
Moving forward it will continue to get harder and harder to build through the draft unless a Wemby is available. Memphis scored 3 draft hits with Ja, Jaren and Desmond Bane. They need to stay healthy and experience advancing in the playoffs. Memphis is still missing a piece or two. They don’t have the depth of talent that OKC and Houston have. San Antonio has Wemby. No future path to Western Conference Finals with the squad they have. Full notch below.
Bane is a great story. Did nothing but produce in high school. Had several mid-majors offers. Jamie Dixon took the TCU job. Watched him play. Offered. Bane was a stud from the moment he walked on campus. He was an Indiana kid who Indiana, Purdue, Notre Dame and Butler all made missed. Surprising to see Purdue not have Bane evaluated correctly. Great kid who absolutely fit the Purdue culture. Matt Painter rarely misses on an in-state kid like that. Rare miss by Mike Brey and Notre Dame. Another kid who fit their program.
They’re the 2nd best team in the West. They just need another wing on the team.
1st round exit candidate. West is gonna be rough.
Yea ok Barry
The nba is so wide open that I can see Memphis winning the title this year, but I can understand the feeling of a missing piece, specially at the wing.
Wonder why so many players just don’t want to go to MEM? Is it the ownership group? Just off the top of my head, I recall Iguodala not even showing up. Butler, KD …
I do remember how a lot of vets were annoyed with the team, even a “frontrunners” theme. I guess that is legit since they were acting like they have won it all.
My guess is market size and exposure…
My guess is the negative publicity Ja created off the court. But I’m hoping this team gets more positive recognition and uses the superstar snuffs as motivation. I wish JJJ was a Warrior – I sincerely do. If it comes down to it, I’ll root for the Grizz in the playoffs over each of the following: Lakers (no brainer), Clippers, Twolves, Kings, Suns, and quite possibly even the Thunder and Rockets.
Trading away a contract that will be expiring next season in no way creates flexibility for Memphis. All it does is allow them to re-sign guys and avoid the tax. That isn’t flexibility that is being cheap. It’s fine for that to be the goal but if they really wanted to remain flexible they would have kept the assets and tried to make a major addition in the summer. Instead they did a salary dump.
Smart is under contract next year, so it undoubtedly creates flexibility. I’m all for owners spending more, but sometimes people act like there isn’t a limit to their spending. Shedding a $21M contract for next season gives Memphis many more options and I’m not really sure how that could be argued against.
They are getting their finances in order. Jaren Jackson is eligible for an extension. If he gets Defensive Player of the Year. He becomes eligible for a super max. They got 3 really good players who are gonna swallow the cap. Bane will get shopped at some point in the future.
Cam Johnson would’ve been a GREAT fit. Smh. 2nd round exit at BEST.
Highest scoring team in the league. You are a hater and bum. Don’t know anything
Most of these teams that win a whole bunch of regular season games by scoring a whole lot of points …. Yeah, they usually are the ones that are the first to exit when teams actually start playing defense for 48 minutes. Playoff basketball is not the regular season.