The Boston Celtics and Memphis Grizzlies agreed to terms on Friday that would send Celtics forward Jeff Green to Memphis in exchange for forward Tayshaun Prince and a future first-round pick. The transaction was the second of the day for the Celtics, who traded their recently-acquired center Brandan Wright to the Phoenix Suns prior to moving Green.
The New Orleans Pelicans joined in on the trade as well on Saturday, acquiring Grizzlies reserve Quincy Pondexter in exchange for Celtics guard Austin Rivers.
The Grizzlies were reported earlier in the week to be aggressively pursuing Green or Miami Heat forward Luol Deng in an effort to increase their talent level in a tough Western Conference that has seen many playoff contending teams make moves in recent weeks. Miami was not willing to part ways with Deng, who is in the first year of a two-year, $20 million contract.
The Celtics and Grizzlies had been exchanging trade proposals on Green for a good part of this season. Boston decided it was in their best interest to trade Green, as he was expected to opt out of the final year of his contract in July and become a free agent, potentially leaving the team with nothing to show for him.
Green, who is in his seventh season, has benefited from playing in head coach Brad Steven’s offensive system, and is currently averaging a career-high 17.6 points per game and 4.3 rebounds per game.
The Grizzlies’ need for better frontcourt depth was brought to the forefront with Zach Randolph’s recent injury that caused him to miss nine games. Green is capable of backing Randolph up, and also provides the ability to play on the wing if Grizzlies head coach David Joerger opts to go with a bigger lineup.
The positives for Memphis: Green has never really fit in to a true position, often bringing mixed results depending on who he is on the floor with. He will most likely be used at the small forward position the most, and will bring to it a big boost in explosive scoring ability, something Memphis has definitely been lacking as veterans Vince Carter and the departed Tayshuan Prince have both begun to show their age. Green is a patient player on offense, and often chooses to pass the ball in dead-end situations, rather than force something. Still, he is capable of exploiting mismatches, handles the ball well, and can fend for himself down low if needed, which will come in handy when Randolph is on the bench.
The negatives for Memphis: The Grizzlies are well-known as a defensive team. Green has never been thought of particularly well of on that end, and could be expolited by opposing teams on the wing and inside. Even so, he’s still an upgrade from Carter in that area, if only because of his youth. His high number of field goal attempts (14.4 per game) could be an issue to on a team that has plenty of go-to options such as Randolph, Marc Gasoul, and Mike Conley. He will most likely dial down his shot attempts as he feels out his new role on the team.
Overall Grade: B+ The Grizzlies stand to benefit greatly from a very good offensive player that can handle up to three different positions on the floor, and Green’s defense is likely to improve on a team environment that emphasizes it. Hanging around a guy like Tony Allen should help in and of itself. He has solid playoff experience on two different teams, and has shown that he can handle starting as well as coming off the bench. Injuries have never been an issue for him aside from missing the 2011-2012 season after finding out he needed heart surgery. He has missed only one game since returning in 2013, and has made 115 consecutive starts. Even if he opts for free agency this summer, the Grizzlies are a better team going forward this season, and have an added edge amidst stiff competition.
The Positives for Boston: The Celtics have shown that they no longer have an interest in winning this season, and would rather expedite their rebuilding process, as evidenced by the Green and Rondo trades. Their past three roster moves have allowed them to ship off big contracts and acquire expiring ones (such as Prince’s $7.7 million expiring contract,) while also stockpiling a massive amount of draft picks to the tune of six first-round selections and 14 overall the next two seasons alone. Team president Danny Ainge has given the team even more bargaining chips to go along with ample cap space.
Negatives for Boston: Fans having to sit through a throwaway season without any big names left on the roster.
Overall Grade: A+ Boston has gotten even younger, positioned themselves for a good run in free agency this summer, given themselves yet another draft pick, and increased cap space with the trading of a player who was likely to leave in the offseason anyways. Can’t argue with that. They also have the added bonus of being able to give some of their younger players increased playing time, which should provide Ainge and Stevens plenty of opportunities to evaluate their nucleus going forward.
