Memphis Grizzlies: Trading Marc Gasol should be a priority this summer

The Memphis Grizzlies have a busy summer ahead of them, and their priority should be moving Marc Gasol

There has been no more confusing team in the NBA over the past year than the Memphis Grizzlies.

This is a team with no future, no direction and a false state of identity. They don’t have a head coach, or even confidence in what their starting unit will look like next season.

This season, injures took the team to new lows, as Mike Conley missed 70 games and Chandler Parsons missed 46 – not that you would have noticed had he played anyways. Marc Gasol also missed a good chunk of the season, too.

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All of that equated to the Grizzlies finishing the 2017-18 season with the second worst record in the NBA.

The roster is truly what bothers me, though. It’s loaded with frontcourt players and they have no real idea of who they want to move forward with. With the projected No. 2 overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft, adding another frontcourt member is a real possibility – the top of the 2018 draft is loaded with talented forwards, bigs.

So how exactly could the Memphis Grizzlies begin to pivot towards the right direction?

Trading Marc Gasol

This is a move that has to be done. The biggest detriment to a team is when they don’t commit 100 percent to a rebuild and that’s what the Grizzlies are close to doing. There are two teams that could realistically target – and covet – Gasol.

The first is the Toronto Raptors.

While this is probably a surprise to most, the Raptors’ core, centered around DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry, is running out of time and if they fail to break through in the Eastern Conference again this could be a power move to put them over the top.

Toronto has enough assets and pieces to make the deal work, too.

The Raptors could send a package centered around Jonas Valanciunas, Norman Powell, Malachai Richardson and draft picks. Toronto would get a floor-spacing center that has proven he can play in today’s uptempo game.

On the other hand, the Grizzlies would get a solid center in exchange and two really young players that are talented enough to grow into roles.

But it doesn’t stop there for the Grizzlies. NBA Draft night will also be a big part in jump starting this team’s rebuild.

Getting the next star on draft night

For the sake of arguments, let’s say the Phoenix Suns get the No. 1 pick and the Grizzlies pick second. Phoenix likely takes DeAndre Ayton.

Memphis could then select Marvin Bagley, who many believe is the second-best player in this draft.

With this move and the potential of Bagley, this team now has a young core that can be anchored by Conley and Valanciunas while they develop.

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Put all of that together, along with a young coach, and once again this team has an opportunity to build towards another contender. In a perfect world, this will likely be how the summer plays out for the Memphis Grizzlies. But the NBA is the complete opposite to predictable.