The Memphis Grizzlies are content to be good but not great. Bad news for their fans but good news for the rest of the Western Conference.
Today Memphis traded leading scorer Rudy Gay and reserve center Hamed Haddadi to the Toronto Raptors receiving point guard Jose Calderon and improved forward Ed Davis in return. Apparently Calderon will be on the move again as he’s expected to be swapped out for small forward be it Tayshaun Prince in Detroit or possibly Vince Carter in Dallas.
Whatever the case the Grizzlies who looked like a real force to be reckoned with in recent years are doing all they can to avoid the luxury tax even if that means taking apart a team sitting 4th in the Western Conference.
Hey, whatever helps makes the teams in front of the Lakers worse I’m all for. Not only does the Lake Show need a nice win streak to get back into the playoff picture but they’ll also need some help from the teams their trying to catch as well.
At one point there were rumors of the Lakers getting into the Rudy Gay sweepstakes but that is clearly a lost cause now.
Obviously Memphis still has talent including two top tier low post players in Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol not to mention a quick and dynamic point guard in Mike Conley. But there is not doubt this move makes the team worse and not better. But again, I’m all for that if it helps pave a somewhat smoother path to redemption for the Lakers.