Trade Talk (Part 18): Early Season Panic Edition

[Domejandro]

Previous Thread: viewtopic.php?f=22&t=2443477

[Domejandro]

Customary saving the second slot in case it is needed (it won't be).

[Wolves21]

It's obvious we need a starting PG. Question to the fanbase is what route to go ? Do you swing big for and all star caliber gaurd like Fox,Ball,Morant,Garland,White...ect or for a cheaper secondary option like Sexton,White,Nembhard..ect

Whatever we do need to make a move sooner then later.

[Klomp]

To continue the Ja discussion, I do think that the Grizzlies franchise has really messed things up there over the past 12 months, from the firing to the trade to everything. So while I don't think Ja is without his faults, I also think he's becoming a victim of circumstances in some ways. I think there are even parallels to how Julius fell out of favor in New York.

There aren't many targets who I would be willing to break up the core group around Ant right now. Ja is one of those guys who I would be willing to do it for though.

[shrink]

The economic problem of trading for a starting PG, is that if you want someone average, you are asking for a NBA star, and need to pay that price. Right now, there are maybe 15 PG’s, or ball-handling playmakers, that are legitimate stars. The position is deep but expensive.

Contrast that with centers. The eighth best center is probably a worse nba player than the 15th best PG. That would be reflected in the trade price we would pay, both in assets and remember - on the cap sheet. Many are on max deals, and did we move KAT’s deal to replace him with a lesser player who may not want to stay here?

I would lean towards a functional, lower tier PG. the price would be better, we could keep Conley’s minutes down, and we can get rid of the guys if Dillingham suddenly pops.

[shangrila]

A framework that works financially would be Naz Reid, Donte DiVincenzo and Rob Dillingham or Mike Conley. Memphis would have to either waive someone (if Rob is included) or send someone back (if it's Mike, since the salary difference would allow us to take a minimum guy). Not sure what Ja's value is and how close that deal would be, but it would probably tick some of the boxes I assume Memphis would be looking for (no draft capital, although I'm sure we could include something, but some youth in Reid and maybe Rob, some salary relief, maybe they can flip Donte for something extra?).

I'd be worried about the fit though, almost regardless of who goes out. Our spacing isn't amazing to start with and adding Ja isn't going to help that. I'd also be worried about a repeat of the Young-Murray Hawks teams, where it was an incredibly awkward match that led to a lot of your turn, my turn kind of basketball. And that's not touching on Randle, how is he going to handle going to a 3rd option (stylistically, I'm not going to touch on the mental/ego sides of this)?

The one way I could see the team threading the needle with this is by pushing the pace. If they could truly lock into being a defensive team (big if, let's be honest) then they could get out in transition with 4 guys who can get the ball up the court (I'm including Jaden here, although he might be more of a .5 in this respect) and a lot of high flying athletes in the starting lineup. Then have TSJ and, for argument's sake with the above deal in mind, Leonard Miller off the bench running the floor too? That could be a fun team.

I don't think that style of play is all that viable in the playoffs, but it would at least play well in the regular season. And then we just keeping building around that idea, while bringing in as many 3pt shooters at any and every position as we can as well as hopefully developing the guys we have into better shooters as well (focus Beringer into more of a Myles Turner/Brook Lopez than Rudy Gobert).

Even with all that said, and as exciting as it would be to add a player of Ja's calibre, that attitude gives me serious pause. We all went through it with Butler and I'm sure I can speak for all of us when I say we aren't interested in going through it again. It would be a hell of a risk bringing Ja in, but maybe it's the kind of risk we need to be taking to keep up with the rest of the West. We were always in a tough spot building this team, given we lacked the warchest OKC had and were also in the awkward spot of getting both exciting young guys while paying significant salaries to older ones (so we weren't able to take advantage of capspace like most building teams were, like the Spurs recently or going back to Denver bringing in Paul Millsap). And say what you want about Finch, I haven't seen any players say a bad word about him, so working with a potentially difficult personality in Ja might be something he's more able to handle than others.

[Domejandro]

For the Ja Morant discussion, there are a few general frameworks (leaving out picks to make it less clunky). As a note, anytime Mike Conley is mentioned, you can substitute him for Donte DiVincenzo (but not necessarily the other way around). This is just outlining viable frameworks, more than being a value judgement. Julius Randle cannot be traded until December 14th, while Naz Reid cannot be traded until January 14th.

1. Julius Randle, Rob Dillingham, and Leonard Miller
2. Julius Randle and Mike Conley
3. Naz Reid, Donte DiVincenzo, and Rob Dillingham
4. Naz Reid, Donte DiVincenzo, and Mike Conley
5. Rudy Gobert and Rob Dillingham (trading Rudy would be a **** disaster, given the roster composition).

Using the first framework, the roster would look like the following...

Ja Morant / Mike Conley / Bone Hyland
Anthony Edwards / Donte DiVincenzo / Jaylen Clark
Jaden McDaniels / Terrence Shannon / Johnny Juzang
Naz Reid / Joe Ingles / Enrique Freeman
Rudy Gobert / Joan Beringer / Rocco Zirkasky


For all of these concepts, things would have to get uglier in Memphis for them to have interest. Personally, I am not thrilled given that Ja Morant is a maturity vampire in the lockerroom (and his health is deeply problematic), but I understand the idea. Ja Morant's driving ability would make doubling Anthony Edwards extraordarily difficult, and Ja Morant would be able to set Anthony Edwards up for a ton of open looks.

Anthony Edwards: 24
Ja Morant: 26
Jaden McDaniels: 25
Naz Reid: 26
Terrence Shannon Jr.: 25
Jaylen Clark: 24
Joan Beringer: 19 (soon to be)
Rocco Zikarsky: 19

Ja Morant expires on the same timeline as Rudy Gobert, so if things did not workout, the team could hard pivot/reset. I would HEAVILY prefer some of the other suggestions of Trae Young or LaMelo Ball, but they are likely not available for what Ja Morant could be, if things implode in Memphis. While the team would be better with the Naz framework (even with the horrific spacing, Julius Randle is a fringe All-Star caliber player), him not being tradeable until mid-January makes it less likely.

[winforlose]

It's obvious we need a starting PG. Question to the fanbase is what route to go ? Do you swing big for and all star caliber gaurd like Fox,Ball,Morant,Garland,White...ect or for a cheaper secondary option like Sexton,White,Nembhard..ect

Whatever we do need to make a move sooner then later.

The best thing about Morant is that he would be cheap. That is why Memphis probably won’t deal him. That relationship is clearly deteriorating, but it isn’t so far gone that they MUST make a move. Fox and Ball (Melo not Lonzo who I flat out object to,) are outside of trade price point. Garland will be overvalued in trade by Cleveland and I would not pay a core piece for him. White is the best answer, Nembhard would be nice but I fear he also overvalued relative to what we are willing to spend.

[shrink]

Look at all the responses so fast!

Desperate wolves fans waste no time!

[BlacJacMac]

It's obvious we need a starting PG. Question to the fanbase is what route to go ? Do you swing big for and all star caliber gaurd like Fox,Ball,Morant,Garland,White...ect or for a cheaper secondary option like Sexton,White,Nembhard..ect

Whatever we do need to make a move sooner then later.

The best thing about Morant is that he would be cheap. That is why Memphis probably won’t deal him. That relationship is clearly deteriorating, but it isn’t so far gone that they MUST make a move. Fox and Ball (Melo not Lonzo who I flat out object to,) are outside of trade price point. Garland will be overvalued in trade by Cleveland and I would not pay a core piece for him. White is the best answer, Nembhard would be nice but I fear he also overvalued relative to what we are willing to spend.

Would he be that cheap?

Everyone assumes that when a team feels like they have to move a player, it'll be at a discount.

But all it takes is 2 or more teams to show interest and the price goes right back up.

[Neeva]

Morant peaked at 22(in his third year) and his game will fall off a cliff the closer he gets to 30 IMO, no way I trade Jaden for him, who just keeps improving every season. I’d rather take my chances on Lamelo, when he finally gets tired of losing in Charlotte, he might finally give a damn on a better organization? He also knows how to stay out of trouble off the court.

[Loaf_of_bread]

It's obvious we need a starting PG. Question to the fanbase is what route to go ? Do you swing big for and all star caliber gaurd like Fox,Ball,Morant,Garland,White...ect or for a cheaper secondary option like Sexton,White,Nembhard..ect

Whatever we do need to make a move sooner then later.

The best thing about Morant is that he would be cheap. That is why Memphis probably won’t deal him. That relationship is clearly deteriorating, but it isn’t so far gone that they MUST make a move. Fox and Ball (Melo not Lonzo who I flat out object to,) are outside of trade price point. Garland will be overvalued in trade by Cleveland and I would not pay a core piece for him. White is the best answer, Nembhard would be nice but I fear he also overvalued relative to what we are willing to spend.

Derrick or coby? Derrick white is 31, and will begin to decline. Coby is 25, and had a very good second half of the season last year. He Might become a very good player.

All of the pgs have negatives in terms of fit, and also us having to 'overpay' in a trade. I personally don't see a high level one available unless a team covets julius. If one does, it would be great. Jaden can play pf against most teams. Also takes care of the julis/naz, oil/water problem with those 2 if NAZ wakes up sooner than later..

[younggunsmn]

I think the only offer that would even get a call back from Memphis would probably be Naz/Dante/Rob.
Gobert/Randle absolutely do not fit their preferred playstyle.

That said, if they put him on the block there will easily be 5 teams minimum that will be able to make better offers.
If they deal Ja they will probably try to get another team to eat KCP and his 2/43 remaining too.

[younggunsmn]

To continue the Ja discussion, I do think that the Grizzlies franchise has really messed things up there over the past 12 months, from the firing to the trade to everything. So while I don't think Ja is without his faults, I also think he's becoming a victim of circumstances in some ways. I think there are even parallels to how Julius fell out of favor in New York.

There aren't many targets who I would be willing to break up the core group around Ant right now. Ja is one of those guys who I would be willing to do it for though.

Lost in all the talk about the attitude/off-court stuff is the fact that Ja has been a very mediocre player when it comes to shooting efficiency and assist to TO ratio. He was supposed to be to player SGA has become and none of that has materialized.
His one good trait is his knack for getting to the line but that reckless playstyle is also part of the reason he is hurt all the time.

[Domejandro]

I kind of alluded to this in my post, but I don't think that Minnesota would be better swapping Julius Randle for Ja Morant. I think a consolidation trade (even involving Naz) would improve the team, but that is a nightmare option for Memphis.

[FrenchMinnyFan]

Following the Grizz for a long period, i would not go for Ja. What we are missing right now is maturity and shooting, Ja bring none of this and he does not play defense. IF we go for a star PG, go for Fox or Young. They don't play defense much but they are much more mature. Ja is not young anymore and i'm afraid he never become adult..

[Neeva]

Following the Grizz for a long period, i would not go for Ja. What we are missing right now is maturity and shooting, Ja bring none of this and he does not play defense. IF we go for a star PG, go for Fox or Young. They don't play defense much but they are much more mature. Ja is not young anymore and i'm afraid he never become adult..

Fox is a big NO to me on his new contract, he’s not a super star but will be paid like he is one. he is getting paid more than Ant for the next four seasons, in 2028-2029 he will be paid over ten million more than Ant!!

After the season there will be more pgs available, this upcoming 2026 draft is FULL of promising PGs.

[KGdaBom]

It's obvious we need a starting PG. Question to the fanbase is what route to go ? Do you swing big for and all star caliber gaurd like Fox,Ball,Morant,Garland,White...ect or for a cheaper secondary option like Sexton,White,Nembhard..ect

Whatever we do need to make a move sooner then later.

Morant only if they include picks and still probably not.

[minimus]

Today no Sexton and LaMelo trade ideas?

[winforlose]

It's obvious we need a starting PG. Question to the fanbase is what route to go ? Do you swing big for and all star caliber gaurd like Fox,Ball,Morant,Garland,White...ect or for a cheaper secondary option like Sexton,White,Nembhard..ect

Whatever we do need to make a move sooner then later.

Morant only if they include picks and still probably not.

This is questionable at best. Ja has never played next to a superstar. His best teammates at any given time have been JJJ or Bane. Putting Ja with Ant would create a significant shift in the gravity both players experience. It would lead to many more open shots and could change the way Ja scores. While I admit the move would not be without risk, I am not willing enough to discard the reward potential to the extent of demanding picks as well as the best player in the deal. His contract is not that bad or that long.