Memphis Grizzlies face interesting trade deadline

The Memphis Grizzlies are in the middle of the pack in the Western Conference standings, muddying their role for the upcoming trade deadline.

A lot can change between now and Feb. 5, but with a decent amount of players becoming trade eligible this week, it begs the question of whether the Grizzlies will be a buyer or seller this season. Some members of the Memphis Grizzlies On SI staff gave their two cents on whether or not the team should be aggressive or stand pat.

Ethan J. Skolnick

They have surged back to the middle of the Western Conference, mostly without Ja Morant and largely due to Zach Edey, who is now sidelined again. But it's hard to see them pushing much higher. What they have now is a promising core of young players, and so it makes sense to keep those and try to find tactical trades to reshape the roster around them.

Jaren Jackson Jr. is likely too expensive to be moved, but flipping Morant may make sense, if the feeling is that he can't elevate the group on or off the court anymore.

Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant brings the ball up court during the third quarter against the Los Angeles Clippers | Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

Jeremy Brener

The Grizzlies' injury was made this a difficult trade deadline for the team to navigate. Several members of the team's core have missed a decent amount of time, which makes the evaluation of the team incomplete. There could be a minor move here or there, but it's hard to imagine the Grizzlies going in either direction with a ton of confidence.

Therefore, the Grizzlies should stand pat at the trade deadline, see how far they go in the playoffs this season, and reevaluate things at the end of the summer.

Ti Windisch

Memphis is in a fascinating spot. The Bane trade was perfectly timed, as now Memphis has several additional draft assets and still got to “sell high” when it was not clear they’d have another difficult season ahead of them. I think any trade should have an eye on the future, but that could include “buying” a player as long as they’re relatively young and cost-controlled.

There are real building blocks in Memphis and this doesn’t have to be a long rebuild, but at some point they’ll have to figure out their Ja Morant situation to really move forward.

Tony Mejia

Unless they trade Ja Morant, it's hard to imagine Memphis being very active in the trade market as a seller. The Grizzlies won't be buyers, because they're not contending for anything except a No. 7 or No. 8 seed out of the play-in tournament in the West. Key offseason acquisition Ty Jerome hasn't even debuted due to injury, Brandon Clarke just returned to action.

No one is trading for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Memphis made a huge commitment to Jaren Jackson Jr. it was essentially pot-committed into making, so it's highly unlikely it would be able to move him or would even want to despite his slow start. Santi Aldama would join Morant as the Grizzlies most likely to be shopped at the deadline.

Ethan J. Skolnick

Jeremy Brener

Ti Windisch

Tony Mejia

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