The Memphis Grizzlies are a franchise on the rise, gradually improving year to year since drafting Ja Morant second overall in the 2019 NBA Draft. With the title race as wide open as it has ever been in quite a while, the Grizzlies have all the looks of a championship team. Armed with suffocating perimeter defense, solid role players, and elite rim protection that may or may not have drawn controversy over the past week, the pieces are in place for Memphis to improve on their second-round exit in last year's playoffs.
However, the NBA, as it has always been, is an arms race, and the Grizzlies cannot afford to rest on their laurels. As solid as they have been during the 2022-23 campaign, there is always room for a contending team to improve. This is especially the case for the Grizzlies, as they have only recently come off a five-game losing skid that knocks them a few paces off the Denver Nuggets' Western Conference-leading record.
Thus, it's no surprise that there have been reports linking the Grizzlies to a potential move for Toronto Raptors forward OG Anunoby. Anunoby may be a piece that won't elevate a team into title contention on his own, but he is someone who can fit in well alongside any team in the NBA with championship aspirations.
Moreover, Anunoby fits the Grizzlies' longstanding grit and grind identity to a T; his perimeter defense will evoke fond memories of Tony Allen locking down the perimeter during his heyday at Beale Street.
Alas, OG Anunoby won't come cheap in a trade. Nevertheless, the Grizzlies, with how well run they have been, have plenty of assets to swing a deal with the Raptors with the NBA trade deadline looming.
This is the perfect trade offer the Grizzlies must make for the Raptors forward.
Grizzlies trade Danny Green, David Roddy, 2023 MEM first-round pick, 2024 GSW first-round pick and 2025 MEM first-round pick to the Raptors for OG Anunoby
That may seem like too much to trade for OG Anunoby at first glance. Anunoby isn't quite an All-Star level talent, so it may be tough for some to stomach seeing their team give up that many draft assets for a player that wouldn't be transformative enough on his own.
However, the Rudy Gobert trade this past offseason has clearly caused an inflation in the return teams expect to nab for a defensive game-changer. The Minnesota Timberwolves, one may recall, traded away three solid role players (Malik Beasley, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Patrick Beverley) plus a promising rookie in Walker Kessler, to go along with four first-round picks and one pick swap for the three-time Defensive Player of the Year.
So why shouldn't the Raptors try to hold out for as many draft assets as they could for someone more matchup-proof than Gobert in the postseason?
It's clear that the Raptors appear content to hold onto OG Anunoby if they don't get their desired return. Anunoby's contract runs until at least the end of the 2023-24 campaign anyway, so the Raptors could very well trade him in the offseason if push comes to shove.
Nevertheless, if three first-rounders, like some reports state, are what it takes to pry away the 25-year old 3 and D extraordinaire from the North, then the Grizzlies should be more than willing to pony up.
The Grizzlies, barring any unforeseen injury problems to their Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Desmond Bane core, will be set up to compete for the foreseeable future anyway, so their draft picks should not end up as extremely valuable selections. And they own each and every one of their draft picks until 2030, which means that they have plenty of leeway when it comes to relinquishing draft capital.
This is why the Raptors would, most likely, want the Golden State Warriors' 2024 first-rounder, perhaps to allow them not to put all their eggs in one basket. And the Grizzlies should be more than willing to ship out that pick.
Moreover, the Grizzlies also look ripe for some talent consolidation. Memphis has John Konchar, Jake LaRavia, David Roddy and Ziaire Williams as backups on the wing, and they could very well choose to part with at least one of those four (preferably Roddy) to facilitate OG Anunoby's arrival.
OG Anunoby would then give the Grizzlies an upgrade over Dillon Brooks; as much as Brooks has endeared himself to Grizzlies fans with his brash trash talk and take no prisoners attitude, his efficiency woes can sometimes be troubling.
Plus, if Memphis chooses to go small, a Ja Morant, Desmond Bane, Brooks, Anunoby, and Jaren Jackson Jr. lineup will immediately give opponents nightmares on both ends of the floor with the amount of skill and defensive tenacity in that lineup.
The Grizzlies could very well stand pat. They are solid enough contenders as presently constructed. But they, of all teams, know the value of perimeter defense in the postseason.
Steph Curry and the Warriors gave them fits last year, and who knows who else they might face in a few months' time. They might come up against Luka Doncic, Kawhi Leonard, Devin Booker, and other perimeter scorers than can put one's defense to the sword. Adding OG Anunoby, as exorbitant a price as it may take to pry him away from the Raptors, helps make them more matchup-proof against the ever-tough Western Conference gauntlet.
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