NBA Trade Deadline Grades: New York Knicks steal deadline day; Lakers disappoint

Memphis Grizzlies

Trade deadline moves: Traded Steven Adams and Xavier Tillman

As you would expect, the Memphis Grizzlies quickly made the pivot toward being a seller at the NBA Trade Deadline this season. From the opening tip, the Grizzlies were in a bad situation. Ja Morant missed the first 25 games of the season and the Grizzlies never truly looked comfortable without their leader. Even the addition of Marcus Smart could not steady the ship with Morant out.

Then when Morant did return, he suffered a season-ending injury. In the end, this simply wasn't the year for the Grizzlies. This season quickly got away and the Grizzlies are now projected to finish with a top pick in this year's NBA Draft. Trading Steven Adams and Xavier Tillman, whose futures with the team were shaky at best, was a cost-saving move on the part of the Grizzlies.

Frankly, I'm not going to give a team much credit for cost-saving moves. Even though these are moves that perhaps Memphis might've made either way, this is still a team that has many questions to answer heading into the offseason.

Grade: C