Possible Trades for the Grizzlies

You may wonder what the Warriors-Pacers eight player trade has to do with the Grizzlies.

Not much.

But it does demonstrate that anyone, regardless of contract, can be traded. Mike Dunleavy, who'll make 8-9 million during the three seasons after this one, has consistently
averaged about 11 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists during his 6 year career. Modest numbers for a number 2 draft pick, who should warrant more than 30 minutes per game. The Warriors finally succeeded in getting rid of Dunleavy and managed to acquire better players in return.

(Insert Knicks joke.)

Luckily for the Grizzlies they don't have any contracts as bad as Dunleavy's. However, they do have some players who make more than their contributions suggest they should. Brian Cardinal is the obvious example. Cardinal is a solid player and by all accounts a model citizen. He could definitely contribute (maybe not at the 7 million level) for another team, but there just aren't enough minutes in Memphis.

Big Jake on the other hand probably has peaked in his NBA career. Still, he's serviceable enough to be thrown into a deal.

So who should the Grizzlies trade for?

My picks tonight are Richard Jefferson or Andrei Kirilenko.

I like these players because they're versatile, Kirilenko on both offense and defense. Both can be All Stars, and both, from an outsider's perspective, seem to be available.

The main reasons to be wary are both players have injury issues, and both players play positions where the Grizzlies are too deep. (Read: Forward)

That said, let's consider the possibilities.

According to Realgm.com, Kirilenko could be traded for Cardinal, Jake, and Dantay Jones. Jerry Sloan would no doubt love Jones' defense and Cardinal's hustle, and Utah would drop a huge contract that's under-performing.

Realgm.com says Jefferson would work for the same trade, and I'm sure Jake is the big man Jason Kidd wants to play with.

Sure these trades are probably unlikely. Still, worse have been made. Charles Barkley was traded for Jeff Hornicek, Andrew Lang, Tim Perry, and someone else that I'm not going to bother to look up.

One recurring theme of this blog which this trade does not address is the lack of minutes the Grizzlies have to distribute. Both scenarios involves 3 players who don't play many minutes in exchange for 1 player who demands 35. The Grizz may be better suited to include Stromile Swift, Hakim Warrick, or Lawrence Roberts in one of these trades. They'd make the trades more appealing and cut down on the number of players who demand minutes. Roberts and Warrick can be added. Swift can be substituted for Jake.

Thanks to CNNSI, NBA.com, and Realgm for all the data.