Trade targets: All 30 teams
Memphis Grizzlies
Record: 31-22
5th place in West
Status: Buyers/Sellers
Update (Feb.16): The Hornets, Grizzlies and Heat made a trade centered around Courtney Lee. Read the trade grades here.
The Grizzlies find themselves at a crossroads as a franchise approaching the trade deadline.
The clock is ticking on the Grit-and-Grind era, with Memphis slipping near .500 and struggling to beat above-.500 teams. To have a realistic chance of winning a playoff series, the Grizzlies probably have to finish in the West's top five. And that got a lot more difficult with the broken foot recently suffered by Marc Gasol.
So, it's possible Memphis could be more seller than buyer with five impending free agents in the rotation.
Potential trade targets
Eric Gordon
The Grizzlies are always on the hunt for more shooting, and Gordon fits the bill as a career 38.2 percent shooter. If the New Orleans Pelicans decide to move on from Gordon in the final season of his contract, expect them to place a call to Memphis.
Kevin Seraphin
Even before backup big man Brandan Wright underwent knee surgery, Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger was looking for more size in the frontcourt. A true center like Seraphin, who has fallen out of his current team's rotation (Seraphin has played just 14 minutes in all of January), could be a cheap target.
Most trade value
1. Marc Gasol
Still in the first year of a five-year, $113 million contract he signed last summer, Gasol remains one of the league's top centers. Unfortunately, he is out indefinitely and could miss the rest of the season with a broken foot.
2. Mike Conley
Conley's value is limited by his forthcoming free agency, but the team he finishes the season with will have full Bird rights to re-sign him as an unrestricted free agent this summer.
3. Courtney Lee
Lee has an attractive expiring contract that pays him just $5.7 million this season. He's the premier 3-and-D specialist on the market and a valuable rental, if not something more.
4. Jeff Green
Yet another impending free agent, Green fetched a first-round pick when Memphis acquired him barely a year ago. But we've now got another year of evidence that Green is likely to remain the inconsistent, frustrating role player he's been throughout his career, and at 29 it's harder to believe he's on the verge of becoming something more.
5. Matt Barnes
Stop me if you've heard this before, but Barnes is in the final season of a reasonable contract paying him $3.5 million. Memphis bought low to get Barnes while giving up nothing of value in return and could parlay him into a second-round pick or two.
Most valuable draft pick
2020 first-rounder
Because of picks traded to the Celtics for Green and the Denver Nuggets (via the Cleveland Cavaliers), Memphis can't deal a first-round pick until 2020 at the earliest. Replenishing their depleted stocks of first-rounders is a key reason the Grizzlies might be tempted into selling at the deadline.
Toughest contract to trade
Vince Carter
The good news for Memphis is the team doesn't have a single truly bad contract on the books. The aging Carter isn't worth the $4.1 million he's making this season, but has only $2 million of his 2016-17 salary guaranteed.
Biggest question marks
Jordan Adams and Brandan Wright
Neither Adams nor Wright has played since early November, and after trying to rehab knee injuries, both underwent arthroscopic knee surgery. Wright could be back by the end of January, but Adams won't likely return until after the All-Star break. Their absences make it more difficult for the Grizzlies to sell off players who are currently needed in the rotation, and Adams' lost season has kept Memphis from determining whether he can be a long-term contributor on the wing.