I still haven’t quite figured out what the Grizzlies’ endgame was when they traded JaMychal Green and Garrett Temple for Avery Bradley. There’s three options: they did the trade for financial reasons, they did the trade for basketball reasons, or they did the trade for no reason at all.
Money-wise, the Grizzlies saved roughly three million this season. I don’t know if that number has any tax implications or not, but that’s the number. Maybe ownership is just cheap, maybe the extra money opens up a max contract spot, I don’t know. However, they did trade two players on the final year of their deals for a player who is still getting paid twelve million dollars next season. That’s not really what you want unless you’re getting a clear upgrade.
When the trade went down, I thought Garrett Temple and Avery Bradley were roughly a wash. Bradley was playing like flabby booty cheeks in Los Angeles, and Temple certainly wasn’t having a very inspiring season in Memphis (then again, he’s never really had an “inspiring” season in his career). Throw in a decent, semi-stretch four in Green and I thought the trade was a clear loss for the Grizzlies. However, Bradley has vastly improved his play since arriving in Memphis, so the trade has evened out in my eyes.
But that doesn’t answer my question. What was the point? Was the point to get a player who you could throw out on the court and have chuck endless shots to keep the fans entertained? That’s what the Grizzlies had last season with Tyreke Evans and MarShon Brooks (rest in peace, muchacho), and it must have put butts in the seats because they’re doing it again. Certainly, they can’t think that Bradley is a long-term piece to build around, can they? Are they aiming for playoffs next season with a Valanciunas/Conley/Jackson/Bradley core (plus optional core member Caboclo)?
This is all way too much thinking for me. I should have written a story where Bradley pigs out on Memphis-style barbecue and the image of Michael Jordan appears in discarded rib bones, causing him to have an epiphany that ends with a resolution to shoot even more contested midrange jimbos than he already is.