Grizzlies face a dilemma: Make a move or stay put ahead of trade deadline

It’s that time of the year again. The NBA trade deadline is a few days away, and rumors have heated up. The deadline for teams to make moves expires on February 9. One team in particular that has been mentioned a lot regarding what they should do is the Memphis Grizzlies. They are currently the second seed in the Western Conference with a 32-18 record.

They recently snapped a five-game losing streak when they defeated the Indiana Pacers on Sunday 112-110. Before the losing streak occurred, the Grizzlies had won 11 straight games. But the recent stretch has shown that the team has a few flaws they could address before the trade deadline.

The Grizzlies have struggled with perimeter defense and three-point efficiency and need to be more effective in the fourth quarter. Veteran shooter Danny Green was acquired in a trade with the Philadelphia 76ers on the night of the 2022 NBA Draft. In return, the Sixers acquired De’Anthony Melton and selection no.23.

The expectation is that Green can come in as the veteran three-point shooter that a team like the Grizzlies can use once the playoffs begin. In the same token, the Grizzlies acquired Green on an expiring contract worth $10 million. Some league insiders suggest that the Grizzlies package Green and many draft assets to land an impact player that can put the team over the top in the West. Currently, the Grizzlies own all their first-round picks and are owed an additional first-round pick from the Golden State Warriors.

They also have nine second-round picks to use as well. If Memphis had to make a major trade during the season, the move would be viewed as a team steering away from its current strategy. Under current general manager Zach Kleiman, Memphis had yet to trade for a player during the season since 2020, when they shipped off Andre Iguodala, Jae Crowder, and Solomon Hill for a package involving Justise Winslow. If you pay attention to the current landscape of the Western Conference, it is very wide open.

Teams such as the Golden State Warriors and the Los Angeles Clippers are playing differently than the contenders everyone expected in 2022-2023. LeBron James is surrounded by a roster that needs to be better to be one of the league’s elite teams. And the New Orleans Pelicans are dealing with injuries to their top stars, Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson. So that’s why it behooves the Grizzlies to make a big splash before the league’s trade deadline, which expires on February 9.

They have all the right assets to pull off a big before it’s too late. If they moved to acquire a player such as Pascal Siakam, it solidified them as a clear-cut favorite to represent the West in the NBA Finals. Siakam is an efficient defender against the perimeter and can protect the rim for the offense. It is not guaranteed that the Grizzlies will be in the same situation as they are now. They still would have the assets to make a move, but from a competitive standpoint, the landscape of the conference could be entirely different.

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