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The Memphis Grizzlies have been a busy team in the 2021 NBA offseason. They were one of the first teams to get involved in transactions and have been very active.
They sent center Jonas Valanciunas, #17 pick (Trey Murphy) and #51 pick Brandon Boston Jr., to the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for Steven Adams, Eric Bledsoe and the 2021 draft's #10 pick, Ziaire Williams. It turned out to be a three-team trade deal, including the Charlotte Hornets.
The Grizzlies then traded Eric Bledsoe to the LA Clippers in exchange for Patrick Beverley, Rajon Rondo and Daniel Oturu. That wasn't all, as they proceeded to move Beverley to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Jarrett Culver and Juancho Hernangomez.
The Grizzlies also traded guard Grayson Allen to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for Sam Merrill and two future second-round picks.
These transactions mean that the Memphis Grizzlies currently have 19 players under contract as on August 27th. An NBA roster should only have 15 players, though, which means the Grizzlies will have to waive, trade or buyout players to meet the roster eligibility criteria set by the NBA ahead of next season.
They have 18 guaranteed contracts and one Exhibit 10 contract as of now. Resultantly, three players will need to be moved before the start of next season if they choose to convert guard Yves Pons' Exhibit 10 contract into a deal with Memphis Hustle, the G-League affiliate team of the Memphis Grizzlies.
Memphis Grizzlies depth chart
The Memphis Grizzlies have a lot of depth in the wings and and bigs department. Despite trading invaluable assets like Jonas Valanciunas and Grayson Allen, who played a great role in their run to the playoffs last season, the Grizzlies still look a decent side at the moment.
Most of their trade moves this offseason were done in a bid to create financial flexibility. They have been successful in doing that so far and could well be under the salary cap limit if they end up making the right moves in the next few days.
The Grizzlies currently have an active roster cap of $114, 715, 166. They also have $300,000 in dead money and $1,1669,178 in cap holds as per Spotrac.
Analyzing which players the Memphis Grizzlies should move to trim their roster
The Memphis Grizzlies have to move three or four players to rim their roster to 15 players. Assuming they turn Yves Pons' Exhibit 10 contract into a deal with Memphis Hustle, they will have to get rid of three players via trade, buyout or waiving them.
Rajon Rondo is one player that has been mentioned in plenty of NBA rumors of late. It could be difficult to trade him at this point, however, because his value is still unknown due to his age and the fact that he is owed $8 million next season.
The Grizzlies need to trim their roster, so receiving another player in exchange isn't an option. Unless teams with traded player exceptions that can absorb Rondo's contract seek a trade for him, the possibility of a buyout seems to be looming large for the former NBA champion.
He does fill the roster's need for a backup point guard, but the Memphis Grizzlies could always trade other assets to bolster their depth at the position. Rondo is better suited to play for a title-contending team, and the Grizzlies are far from it as they aim to focus on developing their young squad led by Ja Morant.
Another player that could potentially be traded into another team's traded player exception or is new acquisition Juancho Hernangomez. The Memphis Grizzlies have a lot of depth at the five, which could see them deem Hernangomez as surplus to requirements. He played only 17 minutes per game last season, averaging roughly seven points and four rebounds. He is owed a base salary of roughly $6-7 million.
Daniel Oturu is another big the Memphis Grizzlies could end up getting rid of. They can simply waive him and end up trimming their roster.
The Memphis Grizzlies have been crafty in the offseason, especially with respect to their trade transactions. It will be interesting to see how they eventually end up trimming their roster down to just 15 players in the next few weeks.
