Sixers and Grizzlies Reportedly Had 'A Level of Trade Discussion'

Earlier this week, we bemoaned the complete lack of Sixers-related trade rumors. Well, ask and ye shall receive!

On Thursday, NBA insider Jake Fischer dumped a whole heaping of trade slop on The Stein Line. He noted there's been "little chatter to date about Philadelphia's deadline plans" before pointing out that the Sixers do have more than $20 million in expiring contracts between Kelly Oubre Jr., Quentin Grimes—who has the right to veto any trade involving him this year—and Andre Drummond.

Fischer went on to add:

"Sources say the Sixers and Grizzlies did have a level of trade discussion in mid-December ... but please don’t aggregate that as a Morant wrinkle. Those talks, I'm told, involved around-the-edges roster matters.

"The point: If the Grizzlies do end up needing a third team to help facilitate some of their active trade dealings on a salary-matching basis, there is some recent synergy between Memphis and Philadelphia that is worth filing away."

Last week, ESPN's Shams Charania reported that the Grizzlies are "entertaining offers" to move star point guard Ja Morant. The Sixers are obviously set at that position thanks to Tyrese Maxey, but they could help facilitate a multi-team deal with some of their expiring contracts if needed. The question is, who would they be getting in return?

Which Grizzlies should be of interest?

As usual, let's start with a refresher. The Sixers are only $1.05 million below the first apron. If they take back more salary than they send out in any trade, they can't exceed the first apron for the remainder of the season.

Grimes ($8.7 million), Oubre ($8.4 million) and Drummond ($5.0 million) are their three big expiring contracts. They also have Eric Gordon ($2.3 million), whom they might be open to moving so they can free up an additional roster spot to convert both Dominick Barlow and Jabari Walker from two-way deals to standard contracts.

For the same reasons that they aren't likely to land Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope ($21.6 million) and Santi Aldama ($18.5 million) are probably out of the Sixers' price range. The same might even go for Brandon Clarke ($12.5 million), who has played only two games this season and is expected to miss another 4-6 weeks due to a calf injury.

The Sixers don't need more backcourt help, and Ty Jerome ($8.7 million) has been out all season with a calf strain anyway. The Grizzlies likely have no interest in moving second-year center Zach Edey ($6.0 million), rookie forward Cedric Coward ($5.7 million) or second-year guard Cam Spencer ($2.5 million), particularly if they plan to move on from Morant in the next few weeks. The same goes for second-year wing Jaylen Wells ($2.2 million) and fourth-year guard Vince Williams Jr. ($2.3 million), both of whom are on dirt-cheap contracts through at least 2026-27.

That leaves us with a few remaining possibilities. Veteran wing John Konchar ($6.2 million) is averaging only 2.9 points and 2.6 rebounds in 12.7 minutes per game for the Grizzlies and has another $6.2 million on his contract next season. The Grizzlies might be eager to shed that extra money, particularly if they're able to flip Morant for expiring deals to free up salary-cap space this offseason.

The more intriguing option might be veteran center Jock Landale ($2.3 million), who is on a minimum deal and has filled in admirably in the absence of Edey. Landale is averaging career highs in points (11.1), rebounds (6.3) and minutes (22.6) this season while shooting 51.8 percent overall and 39.3 percent from long-range on 2.9 attempts per game. If the Sixers are planning to move off Drummond at the deadline and want more frontcourt insurance behind Embiid beyond Adem Bona, Landale would be an ideal target.

Under team president Daryl Morey, the Sixers typically don't swing a move until the week of the trade deadline itself. Deadlines force action, and Morey's front office tends to prefer keeping their optionality open to see what opportunities present themselves in the days leading up to the deadline.

If nothing else, Fischer's report Thursday confirms the Sixers aren't totally asleep at the wheel right now. They're seemingly just having exploratory conversations to suss out their options on the fringes of the rotation.

Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball Reference. All salary information via Spotrac and salary-cap information via RealGM.

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