With the 2018 NBA Draft now less than a week away, team front offices across the league will do their due diligence and look at every possible scenario with their current pick, including potential trades.
The Memphis Grizzlies had been a perennial playoff contender until they took a major step back last season, largely due to the injury troubles of point guard Mike Conley. With Conley and Marc Gasol still there, the Grizzlies already have a blueprint for success, making their fourth overall pick rather expendable. According to The Athletic’s Michael Scotto, the Grizzlies have explored trade options for a package including the fourth overall pick and forward Chandler Parsons:
With the draft a week away, executives are exploring the trade market with more urgency while filtering real intel versus smokescreens.
The Memphis Grizzlies have gauged the trade market on a package of Chandler Parsons and the No. 4 overall pick, league sources told The Athletic.
Once a promising young asset, Chandler Parsons has seen his career and value fizzle out due to injuries and a borderline ludicrous contract. Parsons is slated to rake in upwards of $49 million over the next two seasons before his contract expires in 2020, and has played in only 70 games during the past two campaigns combined.
Pairing Parsons with a fourth overall pick would surely return some value for the Grizzlies who hope to get back into the thick of things in the Western Conference next season. The top of this year’s draft class is stacked with enticing big men and Slovenian guard Luka Doncic, who will likely be gone by the time the fourth team is on the clock.
A team desperate for a jolt of young talent could pull the trigger on a deal with Memphis, but Parsons’ contract remains hard to overlook. Unless a team sees the oft-injured Chandler Parsons turning into a starter or key bench contributor, it could be hard for the Grizzlies to find a trade partner, no matter how much potential the fourth overall pick holds.
