It was recently reported that the Memphis Grizzlies are open to trading away the 4th overall pick in the upcoming NBA draft. The Phoenix Suns can make an intriguing offer.
The Memphis Grizzlies might be willing to trade out of their number four overall spot (the very position that Phoenix Suns fans feared most heading into the lottery), which opens the summer up to a wealth of potential and exciting trade scenarios.
Meanwhile, the Phoenix Suns sit at one for the first time in franchise history.
Can we make a deal? Should the Suns look to make a deal?
The report is an intriguing one and has left many fans wondering if Suns General Manager Ryan McDonough would be open to acquiring the 4th pick as well to pair with the number one overall selection.
I certainly think that not only is it possible, but If they were to make a trade for it, this could be what it would look like:
Obviously Memphis is disappointed about falling out of the top-three of the draft lottery having had the second best odds to win the top pick (it stings, doesn’t it?)
While there are still a plethora of great young talent available at four, it seems that Memphis would rather turn the asset into an established player. I would assume that they’d prefer that player to be on the young side of 30 considering how old their two core players are in Marc Gasol and Mike Conley.
In this trade scenario, T.J. Warren is a great fit for them, going under the assumption that they don’t want to rebuild quite yet. He’s only 25, on a fantastic contract, and provides a second/third scoring option for them that they desperately missed last season.
T.J. will also fill the hole of Tyreke Evans most likely leaving in free agency (and possibly coming to Phoenix?) Evans had a great season for the Grizzlies last year, but he will command much more on the open market than Memphis could afford to pay him. Warren gets to start in Memphis, a position he will likely lose in Phoenix, and he doesn’t really have to worry about any younger players taking his spot any time in the near future.
Besides Warren in this deal, Memphis also gets two solid picks in this draft at 16 and 31. They can either use those picks to package for another veteran, or they can use them to deepen their bench and continue to add young talent behind the older starting five.
Furthermore, they get the Suns’ 1st round pick next year, and with only a top-three protection on it, so it would presumably more than likely convey to Memphis leaving Phoenix with only Milwaukee’s potential first round pick.
Perhaps the biggest plus for the Grizz though, is cap relief.
Obviously that cap relief is not immediate, as they get for the most part equal salary back. However, Tyson Chandler is entering the last year of his deal, and as I said before, Warren’s contract is fantastic for his talent and age. Memphis will get $13M off their books next summer when Tyson’s deal is up. For them, that’s a much better situation than being stuck with Chandler Parsons’ massive contract for two more seasons.
On the Suns’ side of things, the obvious bonus here is the 4th overall pick. They give up a decent amount of assets to get it (and acquire Parsons’ albatross), but this was the entire reason they hoarded so many assets in the first place: to either trade for a star, or a young star high in the draft that they like.
With the 4th pick, there are several intriguing choices for Phoenix that should be available.