The Grizzlies will be without 28-year old center indefinitely due to an abdominal tear.  He has played in 68 games (all starts) for the Grizzlies so far this year and he is averaging 35.2 minutes, 14.3 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.0 steal and 1.7 blocked shots per game.  Gasol has 15 double/doubles so far this year.  This is a huge blow for the Grizzlies, as Gasol could miss the rest of the regular season.  23-year old Ed Davis and 24-year old Darrell Arthur will be asked to play more to replace Gasol.  Davis has played in 24 games (4 starts) for the Grizzlies so far this year and he is averaging 14.5 minutes, 5.2 points, 3.9 rebounds, 0.2 assists and 1.5 blocked shots per game.  Arthur has played in 48 games (2 starts) for the Grizzlies so far this year and he is averaging 17.1 minutes, 6.5 points, 3.0 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game.  The Grizzlies hope to have Gasol back by the time the playoffs start.

UPDATE:  (3/28/2013) – Marc Gasol made an amazing return to action in last night’s loss.  He played 36 minutes last night in which he scored 13 points, grabbed 5 rebounds, dished out 3 assists, stole the ball once and he blocked one shot.

Despite having the fourth best record in the Western Conference with a 29-15 record, the Grizzlies still traded 26-year old small forward Rudy Gay and 27-year old center Hamed Haddadi to the Toronto Raptors as part of a three team deal also involving the Detroit Pistons.  The Grizzlies got 32-year old small forward Tayshaun Prince and 24-year old small forward Austin Daye from the Pistons and they also got 23-year old power forward Ed Davis and a 2nd round pick from the Toronto Raptors.  The Raptors also sent point guard Jose Calderon to complete this deal.

Prince will replace Rudy Gay in the starting lineup at small forward.  Prince played in 45 games (all starts) for the Pistons this year and he averaged 32.4 minutes, 11.7 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game.  Prince shot 44.4% from the floor, 43.4% from the three point line and 79.6% from the free throw line for the Pistons…..so he has been shooting better than Rudy Gay.  Prince has now played in 769 games (730 starts) in his first 11 years in the NBA and he is averaging 33.3 minutes, 12.8 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game.  Daye will have the same role he had in Detroit…backing up Prince at small forward.  Daye played in 24 games (0 starts) for the Pistons this year and he averaged 14.5 minutes, 5.1 points, 2.6 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game.  Daye is shooting 44.3% from the floor, an amazing 52.5% from three point range and 83.3% from the free throw line so far this year….which is impressive.  Davis will probably turn out to be the best player the Grizzlies got in this deal down the road.  Davis played in 45 games (24 starts) for the Raptors this year and he averaged 24.2 minutes, 9.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game.  Davis is shooting 54.9% from the floor but only 64.7% from the free throw line so far this year.  Davis has now played in 176 games (50 starts) in his first three years in the NBA and he is averaging 24.0 minutes, 7.7 points, 6.8 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game.  Davis has a nice upside.

Rudy Gay played in 42 games (all starts) for the Grizzlies this year and he averaged 36.7 minutes, 17.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.3 steals per game.  But, he was only shooting 40.8% from the floor, 31% from the three point line and 77.6% from the free throw line so far this year.  Gay played in 479 games (443 starts) in his seven years with the Grizzlies and he averaged 36.2 minutes, 17.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.3 steals per game.  Rudy Gay made his mark with the Grizzlies as he is all over the record books.  Gay is the all-time leader for the Raptors in both games played (479) and steals (640).  He is also #3 in three pointers made (488), #9 in offensive rebounds (725), #3 in defensive rebounds (2,033), #3 in total rebounds (2,758), #8 in assists (954), #5 in blocked shots (420) and #2 in points scored (8,562) in Grizzlies’ history.  Hamed Haddadi played in 13 games (0 starts) for the Grizzlies this year and he averaged 6.7 minutes, 1.2 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game.  Haddadi played in 134 games (0 starts) in his five years with the Grizzlies and he averaged 6.1 minutes, 2.0 points, 2.1 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game.  Haddadi is no loss for the Grizzlies.

This deal wreaks of a salary dump.  But, it might work out in the long run as Davis and Daye have nice upsides.  Prince is a battle tested veteran who could help the Grizzlies in the playoffs.

The Grizzlies got looted by the Cleveland Cavaliers, but making this deal will allow them to keep the core of their team together in 2012-13.  The Grizzlies have acquired 23-year old power forward Jon Leuer from the Cavaliers.  He played in 9 games (0 starts) for the Cavs earlier this year and he averaged 10.1 minutes, 2.4 points, 1.4 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game.  He has now played in 55 games (12 starts) in his first two years in the NBA and he is averaging 11.7 minutes, 4.4 points, 2.4 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game.  To get Leuer, the Grizzlies dealt 25-year old PF/C Marreese Speights, 25-year old shooting guard Wayne Ellington, 21-year old shooting guard Josh Selby and a first round pick in 2015 (it is top five protected and it is also protected from pick 15-30).  In 2016, the pick has the same conditions as 2015.  In 2017 and 2018, the draft pick is only top five protected.  If it gets all the way to 2019, the draft pick is unprotected.  Speights will be the biggest loss in this deal for the Grizzlies.  He played in 40 games (2 starts) for the Grizzlies this year and he averaged 14.5 minutes, 6.6 points, 4.7 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game.  In his two years with the Grizzlies, Speights averaged 19.2 minutes, 7.9 points, 5.6 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game.  Ellington played in 40 games (4 starts) for the Grizzlies this year and he averaged 16.9 minutes, 5.5 points, 1.3 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.  Selby played in 10 games (0 starts) for the Grizzlies this year and he averaged 5.9 minutes, 2.0 points, 0.5 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game.  Selby played in 38 games (0 starts) in his two years with the Grizzlies and he averaged 7.8 minutes, 2.2 points, 0.5 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game on 33% shooting from the floor.  The Grizzlies gave up a lot of their bench to keep the starting unit together as Rudy Gay and Zach Randolph’s names were coming up quite a bit in trade rumors.

The Grizzlies have re-signed 27-year old center Hamed Haddadi.  Haddadi played in 35 games (0 starts) for the Grizzlies last year and he averaged 5.9 minutes, 2.0 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game.  He has now played in 121 games (0 starts) in his first four years with the Grizzlies and he is averaging 6.1 minutes, 2.1 points, 2.2 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game.  Haddadi will likely again be sitting near the end of the bench and getting paid well for it.

The Grizzlies have sent 26-year old point guard Jeremy Pargo, a second round pick in 2014 and cash to the Cleveland Cavaliers for 22-year old small forward D.J. Kennedy.  Pargo played in 44 games (5 starts) as a rookie for the Grizzlies last year and he averaged 9.6 minutes, 2.9 points, 0.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game.  D.J. Kennedy played solid basketball in the D-League last year before getting signed late in the year by the Cavs.  Kennedy played in 2 games (0 starts) as a rookie for the Cavs last year and he averaged 29.5 minutes, 6.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.0 steal per game.

UPDATE:  (9/19/2012) – The Grizzlies have waived D.J. Kennedy.

UPDATE II:  (9/25/2012) – The Grizzlies have re-signed D.J. Kennedy.

UPDATE III:  (10/9/2012) – The Grizzlies have waived D.J. Kennedy again.

The Grizzlies have acquired 24-year old shooting guard Wayne Ellington from the Minnesota Timberwolves for 25-year old power forward Dante Cunningham.  Ellington played in 51 games (4 starts) for the T-Wolves last year and he averaged 19.1 minutes, 6.1 points, 1.9 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game.  He has now played in 189 games (13 starts) in his first three years in the NBA and he is averaging 18.7 minutes, 6.5 points, 1.9 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game.  Cunningham played in 64 games (5 starts) for the Grizzlies last year and he averaged 17.6 minutes, 5.2 points, 3.8 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game.  This deal should help both teams.

The Grizzlies have signed 23-year old PG/SG  Jerryd Bayless to a 2-year deal.  Bayless played in 31 games (11 starts) for the Raptors last year and he averaged 22.7 minutes, 11.4 points, 2.1 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game.  He has now played in 229 games (36 starts) in his first four years in the NBA and he is averaging 18.2 minutes, 8.1 points, 1.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game.  This was a good move for the Grizzlies because Bayless can play both guard spots.

The Memphis Grizzlies have re-signed 24-year old forward Darrell Arthur to a 3-year deal worth between $9-10 million bucks.  Arthur missed all of  the 2011-12 season due to injury.  He has played in 188 games (74 starts) in his first four years with the Grizzlies and he is averaging 18.8 minutes, 6.9 points, 4.2 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game.  This was a good move for the Grizzlies as Arthur should really help them off the bench.

The Grizzlies have re-signed 24-year old power forward Marreese Speights to a 2-year deal worth nearly $9 million bucks.  Speights played in 60 games (54 starts) for the Grizzlies last year and he averaged 22.4 minutes, 8.8 points, 6.2 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game.  He has now played in 265 games (58 starts) in his first four years in the NBA and he is averaging 16.4 minutes, 7.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game.  This was a solid move for the Grizzlies as Speights really played well for them last year.

The Memphis Grizzlies selected 19-year old point guard Tony Wroten Jr. out of Washington in the first round of the 2012 NBA Draft.  Wroten is 6’5″, 205 pounds.  He played in 35 games at Washington last year and he averaged 30.3 minutes, 16.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.9 steals per game.  Not bad for his only year in college.  But, he only shot 44.3% from the floor, 16.1% (9 of 56) from three point range and 58.3% from the free throw line last year.  He will learn by backing up Mike Conley in Memphis.