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Memphis Grizzlies Gauging Trade Market
The Memphis Grizzlies are gauging the value of guard Ben McLemore on the trade market, league sources told Basketball Insiders.
The former seventh overall pick signed a two-year, $10.7 million deal with Memphis this past summer. After appearing in 21 consecutive games, including five starts, McLemore has not played in six of the past eight games.
The 6-foot-5 guard is owed $5.5 million next season in the final year of his contract, according to our Grizzlies salary page.
McLemore is averaging 6.5 points in 17.2 minutes per game.
In addition, Memphis is open to dealing swingman James Ennis for at least one second-round pick, league sources told Basketball Insiders.
Ennis is in the final year of his contract and earns $3 million this season.
The 6-foot-7 forward is averaging 6.8 points and 3.4 rebounds in 23.7 minutes per game. Ennis is shooting 50 percent from the field, 35 percent from beyond the arc, and 89 percent at the foul line.
The 27-year-old has averaged 23.6 minutes per game and become a solid rotation player in Memphis since the 2016-17 season.
Aside from the looming contract talks of Clint Capela and Chris Paul, the free agency of veteran forward Trevor Ariza’s is another issue the Rockets will need to address come July 1.
Throughout his career, Ariza has signed relatively team-friendly deals, never earning more than $8.5 million per season. According to a person with knowledge of Ariza’s thinking, the veteran small forward will seek a larger deal once free agency arrives. Ariza is believed to want a contract in the range of $50-60 million over 4-5 years, more than $30-40 million Houston would likely offer. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak on the record about Ariza or the Rockets’ free agency plans.
Source: Kelly Iko of USA TODAY Sports
San Antonio’s Kawhi Leonard has Los Angeles — preferably the Lakers — at the center of his preferences for a trade destination, league sources tell ESPN.
San Antonio’s Kawhi Leonard has Los Angeles — preferably the Lakers — at the center of his preferences for a trade destination, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 15, 2018
Source: Adrian Wojnarowski on Twitter
The Nuggets are aggressively seeking to shed salary by trading forward Kenneth Faried, and the Hawks are willing to accommodate them for the right price, according to a person with knowledge of the NBA trade market.
The Hawks would seek draft picks, young players or both as part of a deal with the Nuggets or any other team that wants to reduce payroll. The Nuggets own the No. 14 overall pick in next week’s draft, and their expendable young players include recent draft picks Malik Beasley and Tyler Lydon.
The Nuggets are looking to reduce their salary commitments for next season. Faried is owed $13.8 million in 2018-19, the final year of his deal, and he fell out of Denver’s rotation this season with a career-low 461 minutes played.
Source: Michael Cunningham of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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