Tyreke Evans isn't leaving Grizzlies, so GM Chris Wallace should

Tyreke Evans is coming back?

Oh.

Then general manager Chris Wallace should leave.

They can exchange pleasantries as they pass each other in the hallway.

More: Grizzlies keep Evans, trade Ennis to Detroit

Evans: “Y’all are crazy.”

Wallace: “I’m just showing myself out.”

That is the only way this should end. With Wallace, exiting stage left.

Wallace and the Grizzlies had one job at the trade deadline. That job was to get Evans off the roster. They failed. Isn’t it time to conclude that they have failed enough?

More: Tyreke Evans saga another bizarre twist to Grizzlies' season

More: Marc Gasol intent on ‘keeping Grizzlies together’

Look back: Why the Grizzlies must trade Tyreke Evans

Wallace was the general manager when the Grizzlies drafted Hasheem Thabeet. Wallace was the general manager when the Grizzlies traded Kevin Love for O.J. Mayo. Wallace was the general manager when the Grizzlies traded a first-round pick for Jeff Green. Wallace was the general manager when the Grizzlies drafted Xavier Henry, Tony Wroten, Jordan Adams, Wade Baldwin and you know the list.

That’s a lot of screw-ups, but Grizzlies fans forgave all that because, hey, it wasn’t ever totally clear who was calling the shots, and because Wallace also was the general manager when the Grizzlies built a team that went to the playoffs seven straight years.

Plus, the owner was off in Asia or wherever. So Wallace got more chances. This was clearly not wise.

Wallace was still the general manager when the Grizzlies paid Chandler Parsons $94 million. Wallace was still the general manager when the Grizzlies made Ben McLemore their No. 1 target in free agency. Wallace was still the general manager when the Grizzlies hired David Fizdale to remake the culture of the organization and then fired Fizdale because he tried to remake the culture of the organization. And Wallace was still the general manager Thursday, when the Grizzlies topped even themselves.

All around the league, NBA general managers were trading like crazy, pulling off bold, eye-popping deals.

Among the players traded Thursday: Dwyane Wade, Isaiah Thomas, Derrick Rose, Rodney Hood, Elfrid Payton, George Hill, Jordan Clarkson and Emmanuel Mudiay. That doesn’t count Blake Griffin, who was traded a couple weeks ago.

Meanwhile, Wallace went into the deadline with the task of flipping Evans — who will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year — for whatever he could get.

He failed. Evans will be returning. How bizarre and awkward is that?

The Grizzlies pulled Evans from the lineup during a road trip last week, sending him back to the team hotel to await a near-certain trade.

It was an unconventional decision but it made a lot of sense. Why risk Evans getting hurt when the Grizzlies had no choice but to deal him? And why risk Evans winning any more games single-handedly and screwing up the Grizzlies' chances in the coming draft?

Indeed, the draft pick is the key to all this. It is the Grizzlies' only real shot at adding a star. With Evans, the Grizzlies are just good enough to ruin their chances to get a high draft pick. Without him, as we have seen, they’re bad enough to get blown out by the Atlanta Hawks.

So the Grizzlies should have dealt Evans weeks ago for any of the second-round picks they were offered. But Wallace decided he could get a better deal. He decided to engage in a deadline-day game of chicken and wound up with egg on his face.

Do not believe anyone who tells you the Grizzlies “couldn’t get value” for Evans. It didn’t matter if they got value for Evans. The value was getting him off the team. There is simply nothing the Grizzlies could have gotten in a trade for Evans that would have been worth more than the difference between picking No. 3 in the draft and picking No. 9. So Wallace should have signed on the dotted line when, according to ESPN’s Zach Lowe, Denver offered Wallace the choice of Mudiay and a second-round pick or an expiring contract and multiple second-round picks.

Instead, the Grizzlies held out for more. And got nothing at all, unless you count the opportunity to rack up a few counter-productive wins. Indeed, let’s say the Grizzlies are somehow able to persuade Evans to rejoin this clown show in the summer. Is that better than adding a top-three draft pick?

The Grizzlies' grand plan has been to keep 33-year-old Marc Gasol, hope that Mike Conley recovers from foot surgery, add a high draft pick during the summer and try to sneak back into the playoffs next year. Retaining Evans might give them a marginally better chance to do that, but is one final quick exit from the playoffs worth sacrificing the chance to effectively rebuild? Especially when the Grizzlies could have resigned Evans this summer even if they had traded him to another team?

This is the work of a franchise with no vision. Or a vision that doesn't extend beyond next year. That's why it's time for a new start and new management. Notwithstanding the current ownership uncertainties, how long can Robert Pera allow the team to careen along?

In the meantime, the Grizzlies will have to welcome back a player they just sent away. It could be the most awkward moment for the franchise since Christian Laettner threatened to suit up and play.

Wallace: “We never lost faith in you. We want to stay here forever.”

Evans: “Hahahahaha.”