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Former Toronto Raptors Player Officially Joins Memphis Grizzlies

The Memphis Grizzlies have announced the trade acquisition of Yuta Watanabe
Joey Linn|
Former Toronto Raptors Player Officially Joins Memphis Grizzlies
Former Toronto Raptors Player Officially Joins Memphis Grizzlies

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Memphis GrizzliesToronto Raptors

The Memphis Grizzlies were very active at the NBA trade deadline, making several moves that help position themselves for next season when they get healthy. One of the moves the Grizzlies made was a three-team trade with the Phoenix Suns and Brooklyn Nets that brought back Yuta Watanabe, Chimezie Metu, and a future first round pick swap in exchange for David Roddy.

While there are a lot of moving pieces in this deal, one of the biggest reasons for the Grizzlies to be excited is the acquisition of Watanabe. Beginning his career with the Grizzlies, Watanabe played 33 games for Memphis across the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons before joining the Toronto Raptors where he really began finding himself as an NBA player.

Initially signing an Exhibit-10 deal with Toronto, Watanabe then earned one of their two-way spots before being converted to a standard contract in April of 2021. This was Watanabe's first standard NBA deal, and while he spent some time with the Raptors G-League affiliate, Watanabe played 88 NBA games for the Raptors across two seasons.

With the Brooklyn Nets and Phoenix Suns the last two seasons, Watanabe hasn't found a large role, but the flashes he first showed in Memphis and then Toronto have also been on display in his last two stops. A career 37.7% three-point shooter, Watanabe could help the Grizzlies.

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Joey Linn
JOEY LINN

Joey Linn is a credentialed writer covering the NBA and WNBA for On SI. Covering the LA Clippers independently in 2018, then for Fansided and 213Hoops from 2019-2021, Joey joined On SI to cover the Clippers after the 2020-21 season. Graduating from Biola University in 2022 with a Communication Studies degree, Joey served as Biola's play-by-play announcer for their basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams. Joey's work on Biola's broadcasts and in the classroom earned him the Outstanding Communication Studies Student of the year award in 2022. Joey covers the NBA full-time, primarily serving as a Clippers beat writer.

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