The Memphis Grizzlies seem to have resigned themselves to their fate, and are approaching this trade deadline as an opportunity to hit the reset button and trade away Marc Gasol and Mike Conley.
While most have been tinkering with ideas that would send the two long-time stars in Memphis to different teams, it is possible they are packaged together. There are a number of teams interested in the players, even with Conley’s contract, as Utah has had reported interest in a possible Conley-Ricky Rubio swap, while Gasol figures to draw interest from those in need of an upgrade at center.
The Raptors have been among the teams expected to consider a Gasol trade, but they apparently are in talks to acquire both in a blockbuster deal that would send Kyle Lowry to Memphis, along with Jonas Valanciunas, according to Sports Illustrated’s Jake Fischer.
While Memphis has most seriously continued dialogue with Utah and Detroit on Mike Conley trade packages, the Raptors called Memphis offering Kyle Lowry and Jonas Valanciunas for Conley and Marc Gasol, per league sources. Lowry is aware of Toronto’s general trade discussions.
— Jake Fischer (@JakeLFischer) February 5, 2019
It would be nothing short of stunning for the Raptors to ship Lowry and DeRozan out within seven months of each other given how important those two have been to the rise of Toronto as a consistent playoff contender. Still, the Raptors have sputtered of late after their scorching hot start and if the goal is to be a championship contender this year to convince Kawhi Leonard to stay long-term, a major shakeup on the roster isn’t out of the realm of possibility.
For the Grizzlies, the question becomes whether Lowry and Valanciunas represent the type of return they want from their stars — and whether they think they could ultimately flip Lowry for assets over the summer. We’ll see, but for now this is the juiciest trade nugget to come out of the deadline this side of Anthony Davis.
