The Memphis Grizzlies Are Ready To Blow It The Fuck Up
If you’ve been paying attention to the Grizzlies season, this isn’t all that surprising. With a 19-28 record, a full 6.5 games out of the final playoff spot, it’s clear that the Grizzlies were heading for the Lottery. The only problem is their 19 wins are way too many compared to the other tanking teams, which means that they were sort of stuck in that lower lottery range. That’s a problem because any pick that comes after 8 goes directly to Danny Ainge so he can then give it to NO as part of a package for Anthony Davis. In order to keep that pick and really get ahead of their rebuild it was clear they were going to have to trade their two best players. I’m sure they could see the writing on the wall, there were reports they met with the owner a few days ago to talk about the future and I’m concluding it was basically him asking these guys if they were cool with being traded. They of course said yes, mostly because secretly they 100% wanted out of this mess given the fact they are both in the later stages of their careers. Now I can’t imagine they’ll be given away for nothing, but both players will for sure have a market.
This move is big for the Grizzlies not just because it helps ensure they get a nice pick this summer, but if they are able to trade for expiring deals they are unloading a shit ton of money off their books. Next season Gasol, who will be 34, has a $25M player option. Given his age, you bet your ass he’s opting into that. If they can flip him for something that also comes off the books plus picks, that’s a move you have to make. With Conley, it’s a bit more complicated. See he’s owed $32M next season, and then has a player option for $34.5M the following year. If you’re trading for Mike Conley, you’re committing to him being your point guard for at least 2 more years and a huge chunk of your cap. I think we all want to see him land on a playoff team but it’s not exactly the easiest deal to move.
These two defined the Grit & Grind Grizzlies, are for sure getting both of their numbers retired, and are littered across the franchise record books. This would be a separation that I feel like MEM fans will be OK with, they understand the reality and if they get trade these two to good situations I feel like Grizzlies fans would still root for them. Maybe it’s a Memphis thing but I think everyone is in agreement this is the way to go. The Grizzlies have some good promising young talent to build around like Jaren Jackson Jr, Dillon Brooks, etc, and they need to add as many assets as possible because rebuilding in the West isn’t exactly easy.
These are probably the biggest names we’ll see moved at the deadline, so just remember we basically can’t sleep from now until mid February.
P.S.
How long until one of these guys is a Laker? LeBron probably already accepted the trade.