One of the more amusing trends this offseason has been teams swapping regrettable four-year contracts signed after the salary-cap jump in the summer of 2016 that expire after this season. The Atlanta Hawks, who've been collecting such deals as the only team not looking to use cap space primarily to sign free agents, send a pair of them to the Memphis Grizzlies for the much larger deal of forward Chandler Parsons.
What do the two teams get out of this trade, which is basically salary-neutral? Let's take a look.
Atlanta Hawks get: Chandler Parsons
Memphis Grizzlies get: Solomon Hill, Miles Plumlee
Get more trade grades for every deal here.
Atlanta Hawks: B
The motivation for the Hawks here appears to primarily be about roster spots. Once they complete the trade agreed to on draft night, bringing Hill to Atlanta on July 6, they would have been committed to 12 guaranteed contracts plus a partially guaranteed deal for guard Jaylen Adams. That wouldn't give general manager Travis Schlenk much flexibility to add to the roster via future trades with the team's remaining $14 million or so in cap space, or to add cheaper young free agents along the lines of last year's deal for Alex Len.
By making this 2-for-1 trade, the Hawks are down to three expiring contracts from the summer of 2016 filling up their roster: Parsons, Allen Crabbe and Evan Turner. While Crabbe and Turner look set to play rotation roles off the bench this season, I'd be more surprised if that were the case with Parsons, who has rated worse than replacement level two of the past three years as he has been limited by persistent soreness in his right knee.
Memphis Grizzlies: C+
According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the Grizzlies made this deal after they were unable to come to terms with Parsons on a buyout. ESPN's Bobby Marks points out that the two smaller contracts for Hill ($12.8 million) and Plumlee ($12.5 million) will be more tradeable than Parsons' $25.1 million salary. Memphis could use those expiring deals to take on bad salary for 2020-21, when the team could have massive cap space, before this year's trade deadline.
Nonetheless, I might rather have the extra roster spot. After making all their reported deals, the Grizzlies will be at 17 players under full NBA contract before potentially re-signing restricted free agent Delon Wright. That figure should clear up, as both Avery Bradley and Kyle Korver could be waived before their salaries fully guarantee next week and Andre Iguodala is a buyout candidate, but leaves little room to add young prospects.
More than anything, I suspect Memphis just wanted to be rid of Parsons, whose contract quickly turned ugly because knee injuries kept him off the court and sapped his production when he was on it. Parsons became symbolic of the Grizzlies' failed attempt to remain competitive in the West in the late prime of stars Mike Conley and Marc Gasol, an era on which Memphis has now turned the page.