5 thoughts on the Memphis Grizzlies 2025 trade deadline
The Memphis Grizzlies' trade deadline has layers behind it: underwhelming, yet sensible. It also shows belief in the pieces that have played a role in its 35-16 start, and that can benefit long-term.
The Memphis Grizzlies’ trade deadline has passed — no Jimmy Butler, no Kevin Durant, no Cam Johnson. Instead, they made moves to declutter the rotation.
In a three-team deal, the Grizzlies traded Marcus Smart and their first-round pick this season (lottery-protected) to the Wizards and Jake LaRavia to the Kings in exchange for Marvin Bagley, Johnny Davis, and two second-round picks. One of those seconds is a 2028 second-round pick from Sacramento and then the lesser of the picks between Phoenix and Golden State’s second-round picks, per The Athletic’s John Hollinger.
The return doesn’t match the adrenaline modern NBA fans feel when that Shams Charania notification hits. The Grizzlies’ trade deadline is a layered — underwhelming, yet sensible. With hopes of winning a championship in mind, this return doesn’t reflect bringing someone in to bolster its championship chances, but it places immediate and long-term confidence in the guys they have on the roster — and want to keep for the long haul.
Let’s peel the layers back on this trade deadline.
Jake LaRavia to the Kings
Jake LaRavia being dealt isn’t surprising. The team didn’t pick up his fourth-year option, and Jaylen Wells, GG Jackson, and Vince Williams are young wings the Grizzlies invested in.
With the injury report shrinking, LaRavia wasn’t in the regular rotation for the first time this season in Wednesday’s game against Toronto. This move gets LaRavia to a spot where he should receive a consistent role off the bat. The Sacramento Kings have continued to go all in on offense, so bringing in a bigger forward/wing that adds value defensively is a good play for them.
Credit to LaRavia, after starting his career snake-bitten with injuries, he worked hard to show he belongs in the league. Ever since this time last year, he showed his value as someone that’s more than a shooter — a driver, connector, and a hard-nosed defender. Though his option didn’t get picked up earlier this season, he put his head down and kept working. In the process, he impacted winning this season, as the Grizzlies outscored their opponents by 10 points per 100 possessions with him on the floor this year, per Cleaning the Glass.
Even with his impact, he wasn’t going to have as much playing time on a fully healthy roster, so they sent him somewhere that offers him a role in exchange for an asset before his free agency this summer.
It’s a solid move for both parties.
Marcus Smart dynamic, miscalculation
The more controversial part of the trade deadline is the Marcus Smart trade. It all starts with the initial Smart trade.
The Grizzlies traded away Tyus Jones, the 25th pick, and the 2024 Golden State Warriors first-round pick for Marcus Smart in the summer of 2023. I’m honestly still baffled how Washington — who sent Kristaps Porzingis to Boston in the swap — didn’t come away with the picks, but oh well. I understood the rationale of the Smart deal, even with hindsight.
After a rocky close to the season, they needed to bring in a veteran playoff presence. Smart offered that more than most players in the league. He’s fit next to stars as a playmaker, but also as a positionless player. The Grizzlies were also replacing Dillon Brooks and needed another defensive stopper. Smart is a former Defensive Player of the Year that has guarded any and all archetypes. With it costing Tyus Jones from a salary-matching standpoint — and with needing a floor general without Ja Morant for 2025 games — Smart had experience as the de facto point guard for the Celtics.
It made sense until it didn’t work.
Smart played 39 out of a possible 134 games as a Grizzly. The injury thing is a bummer, because it wasn’t phantom soreness. We saw the ankle sprains and the “you can’t explain this” finger injuries. On the court, he was rather ineffective, mainly offensively as a playmaker and scorer. Not only was it not a clean fit, but while he was out, other players emerged and made him not as much of a necessity.
Vince Williams and GG Jackson broke out as key pieces to surround the core with last season. Even with their early-season absence, Jaylen Wells immediately became a valuable 3-and-D wing next to the starters — one that offers more size and shooting.
Then, the solution became to make Smart the backup point guard. Well when he had his finger injury, the calculus changed yet again. Scotty Pippen’s point-of-attack defense and overall pop have made him hard to sit. An under the radar development within this calculus is Luke Kennard’s presence as the team’s 3rd guard. He’s provided the necessary playmaking behind Ja Morant and Desmond Bane, while also being one of the best shooters in the league — the Grizzlies have also outscored opponents by a blistering 15.9 points per possession with Kennard as the 1 (+11.2 overall), per Cleaning the Glass.
And probably the biggest change in the last 18 months, Zach Kleiman said that the trio of Ja Morant, Desmond Bane, and Jaren Jackson Jr. have a pulse of the locker room. That’s what the organization has wanted after all.
The Marcus Smart trade to bring him to Memphis was a miscalculation, and Zach Kleiman acknowledged it. Instead of keeping him, maybe risking his value diminishing further, the Grizzlies moved forward with a deal that presented opportunities for their promising young players to continue thriving.
The return for Marcus Smart
Before discussing the players, let’s get into the whole “oh the Grizzlies traded Tyus Jones and three first-round picks for Marcus Smart” bit — mainly the picks.
The 2023 first-round pick was the 25th pick for a team that had too many young players — and if you look at the players between 25th and 40th, it’s hard to pinpoint immediate difference-makers. And with this year’s pick, the Grizzlies are likely picking between 25 and 28. They have a lot of young guys to give minutes too already. It’s hard to fault them. The Warriors’ trade with the Blazers stings because it helped Boston acquire Jrue Holiday from Portland after the Damian Lillard trade, and then the Blazers used it to acquire Deni Avdija from Washington.
(Note: I’ve spoken ad nauseum about how much I’d like to have Avdija in Memphis, he’d be a piece that can help them win a championship. I do wonder though, given the archetype they coveted with Smart … if the Damian Lillard trade was done around the 2023 draft, would the Grizzlies have pivoted towards getting Jrue Holiday instead of Smart? Good, but unnecessary, thought exercise).
We’ve unpacked the Smart experience. He didn’t pan out as envisioned. This season, he was probably the team’s 12th-best player. I’m glad they decided to cut losses now instead of waiting until the playoffs where he could be taking playing time from someone more beneficial.
Nonetheless, the return is a smidge disappointing. Prior to the trade deadline, you’d think the Grizzlies could’ve received a better return when pairing Smart with a first-round pick. For example, the Grizzlies and Bulls discussed a Smart for Lonzo Ball swap, per ESPN’s Brian Windhorst. The Bulls opted to extend Ball instead.
While the Grizzlies maybe could’ve waited until the offseason for such a trade, the return offered them money off their books next season. With Marvin Bagley and Johnny Davis arriving — at least on the cap sheet — that’s roughly $18M in expiring contracts for this summer.
From an on-court standpoint, Davis is likely not coming to Memphis. Kleiman did say that Bagley will be coming to Memphis. If you’ve been following my work for a while, you’d know how much I liked Bagley at Duke coming in the league. I legitimately thought he could’ve been the best player in that class. L for me.
Nonetheless, he’s an emergency big man that’s more of a true center than Jay Huff. He’s a solid rebounder and play-finisher. Taylor Jenkins specifically mentioned his defensive versatility and playmaking as selling points on Bagley’s game.
The flexibility going forward
This trade deadline is all about flexibility going forward. The Grizzlies want to retain Santi Aldama through restricted free agency this summer, while ensuring Jaren Jackson Jr. can receive market value on his next deal. The main piece here is Jaren Jackson Jr., whose All-NBA campaign will determine his next contract. Here’s an excerpt from ESPN’s Kevin Pelton in his trade grades:
The urgency to trade Smart now surely stems from Memphis' desire to create cap space for the possibility of renegotiating and extending Jaren Jackson Jr.'s contract. If Jackson doesn't make an All-NBA team and become eligible for the supermax, the Grizzlies would be limited to offering him a starting salary of $32.8 million in the first season of a traditional extension. …
Jackson qualifying for the supermax would solve the problem by allowing the Grizzlies to offer him up to 35% of the cap as a starting point on an extension. If that doesn't happen, Memphis now has the ability to bump up Jackson's 2025-26 salary to $28.1 million using cap space while retaining full Bird rights to restricted free agent Santi Aldama.
In that scenario, Jackson's extension could start at $39.3 million -- still substantially lower than his max (a projected $51 million) but now enough to make a credible offer.
Honestly, anything to keep Jaren Jackson Jr. and pay him market value, I’m all here for. Hopefully, the All-NBA campaign makes things easier for all parties.
On the Santi Aldama piece, I’m unsure what his ultimate contract number looks like. Some comparable numbers:
Brandon Clarke: 4 years, $52M (2022 extension)
Naz Reid: 3 years, $41M (2023 free agency extension)
Obi Toppin: 4 years, $58M (2024 free agency extension)
For a younger sixth man, I’d expect a similar contract. It’s quite obvious why the Grizzlies want to prioritize Santi Aldama. From a numbers standpoint, he’s boasting career-high’s in points (12.7), rebounds (6.7), assists (2.5), steals (0.8), 2-point field goal percentage (58.9), 3-point percentage (37), BPM (3.3), and EPM (+1.9). When analyzing his profile, he’s a 7-footer that can dribble, pass, and shoot. He can be a play initiator or finisher. He’s also only 24 years old. Yes, you prioritize those players.
This trade deadline can be graded more accurately once we know what happens with Jaren Jackson Jr. and Santi Aldama.
On a lower tier, while the Grizzlies surrendered a first-round pick, they retained two second-round picks. They now have six second-round picks at their disposal between now and 2031. It’s been a positive team-building mechanism for the Grizzlies. Xavier Tillman, Vince Williams, GG Jackson, and Jaylen Wells were all picked in the second-round. The Grizzlies moved up in the draft for Tillman, Brandon Clarke, Desmond Bane, Santi Aldama, and Cam Spencer. They also used three second-round picks to turn Danny Green into Luke Kennard.
That’s good work around the margins. The only misses with the picks were trading up and picking Kennedy Chandler, then using one as a salary dump with Ziaire Williams.
And maybe on the same tier or lower, if the Grizzlies intend to waive Johnny Davis, it opens up a spot for them to acquire someone on the buyout market. Is that a path they explore to bolster the end of the bench?
While flexibility doesn’t necessarily help in the here and now, they’re aiming for an easier pathway to retain and feed opportunities to the players they’ve prioritized.
The here and now
So pivoting to the here and now, the trade deadline can be seen as disappointing, because they got worse on paper. Turning Marcus Smart and Jake LaRavia into Johnny Davis and Marvin Bagley with picks doesn’t necessarily bolster the roster in the here and now. And for a team in the mix for championship contention, it can be seen as a bummer.
Two notes worth mentioning… One, Zach Kleiman did express that they explored every avenue for fortifying their championship chances, while also saying that none of the “star players” they made offers for were moved at the trade deadline. It’s a solid reminder that real life isn’t 2K — you can’t force trades, it takes two to tango.
Secondly, people will say “everybody around them got better,” but I’m not so sure. Yeah, the Lakers got better with Luka Doncic and Mark Williams, no surprise. The Cavaliers traded for Deandre Hunter. Examining the rest of the top 5, the Celtics made a salary dump, and Houston helped them execute it with a pick for its sole move. The Thunder is relying on Chet Holmgren coming back, and only made a salary dump move with a second-round pick to help the Pelicans duck the tax.
Further down the standings, the Nuggets and Timberwolves didn’t do anything. The Suns traded Jusuf Nurkic for marginal role players. The Clippers traded Terence Mann for Bogdan Bogdanovic, who’s regressed away from his typical averages significantly. The Spurs and Warriors got better with De’Aaron Fox and Jimmy Butler, respectively, but both teams are currently outside the play-in — only 10 teams can make it after all.
Zooming back internally, the Grizzlies used this trade deadline to consolidate with the 11 guys they believe in for winning a championship this year, while ensuring the reps are there for them to grow through this experience. A significant trade would have prevented Jaylen Wells, GG Jackson, and/or Vince Williams to have these opportunities — or it could’ve cost Memphis one of those guys. The same could potentially be said for Zach Edey, who would have seen a reduced role. Isn’t utmost confidence in these guys what people want to hear — after all the clamoring of how good they are, and of how they need the minutes to contribute?
So yeah, the trade deadline wasn’t a home run. It’s not a sexy one.
However, this trade deadline indicates belief in its star players, young players, supporting cast that’s been here for a while, the system, and culture. At this moment, even through its continued injury unluck, the Grizzlies are 35-16 and 2nd in the Western Conference with a core that’s equipped to win a championship. We’ll ultimately see how far it takes them come April, May, and hopefully June.
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