The Memphis Grizzlies might be done playing basketball for the summer after being eliminated by the Portland Trail Blazers last night in Las Vegas, but the front office sure isn’t done working.

Sacramento is finalizing a trade to send forward Garrett Temple to Memphis for Ben McLemore, Deyonta Davis and cash, league sources tell ESPN. — Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 17, 2018

What Memphis is Giving Up

According to a more detailed report, Woj is also claiming that Memphis will send a 2nd round pick of the 2021 draft to Sac.

Drafted by the Celtics as the 1st pick of the second round in 2016, Deyonta Davis is currently on a $1.5 million expiring contract. Following that draft, he was traded to Memphis for a protected 2019 1st round draft pick. In Memphis he has struggled to find a rhythm and improve much, even with significant time missed by starting center Marc Gasol. Davis Averaged 4 points and 3 rebounds over the course of his two seasons in Memphis.

This trade sends Ben McLemore back to Sacramento, who originally drafted him with the 7th overall pick in 2013. He signed with the Grizzlies last year and averaged 7.5p/ 2.5r/.9a. His contract expires at the end of the 2019 season.

More: The Backdoor Cut (Ep. 08) — Grizz/Summer League Shootaround feat. Slo-Mo

More: Darius Washington Drills Dagger To Send Memphis State Home

The Grizzlies’ future draft rights now look like this:

First Round 2019 – 1-8 Own; 9-30 to BOS 2020 – 1-6 Own; 7-30 to BOS if not already settled 2021 – To BOS if not already settled 2022 – Own 2023 – Own 2024 – Own 2025 – Own Second Round 2019 – Own; BOS 56-60 (via MIA) 2020 – Own 2021 – To SAC 2022 – Own; less favorable of DET and CHI (via CHI swap for DET) 2023 – Own 2024 – Own 2025 – Own

What Memphis Gains

Veteran wing Garrett Temple has been in and out of the NBA since 2010. Last year in Sacramento he played in 65 games, starting in 35 of them. He had career season in scoring, averaging over 8 points per game in almost 25 minutes per game. To compliment his scoring, Temple shot 39% from 3 last season on 3.5 attempts. Like the other two players involved in the deal, Temple’s contract also expires after the 2018-2019 season, in which he will earn $8 million.

Impact on the Grizzlies

For a glimpse at how these moves impact the salary cap for the Grizz, click on over to Early Bird Rights.

The current roster for the upcoming season now sits at 15 guys after the signings of Kyle Anderson, Omri Casspi, and the drafting of Jaren Jackson, Jr., and Jevon Carter.

Current Roster:

Mike Conley

Marc Gasol

Chandler Parsons

Kyle Anderson

Garrett Temple

JaMychal Green

Jaren Jackson Jr.

Jarell Martin

MarShon Brooks

Andrew Harrison

Wayne Selden

Omri Casspi

Dillon Brooks

Ivan Rabb

Jevon Carter

Thoughts from the ‘Backdoor Cut Crew’

BRO: While I am not thrilled about giving up another draft pick in the future, overall I am with this move. McClemore and Davis have both been inconsistent during their tenures in Memphis and I would much rather give their minutes to guys like MarShon Brooks and Ivan Rabb. Though this leaves the Grizzlies without a true backup center on the roster, I am not necessarily worried about that. If you play Rabb and JaMychal at the same time, you have a pair of 6′ 10″ guys who like to play close to the rim and serve as a serviceable reserve front court.

Bye Bye this:

By popular demand. Coverage of Deyonta Davis summer league progress #Analyseeeez pic.twitter.com/6LtCFaMeze — Brad Carson (@BradCarson) July 16, 2018

Hello more of this:

I’ve got confirmation the deal is getting done … Kings trading their best defender and great leader for another young big, Deyonta Davis, and another shooting guard, former King Ben McLemore — Jason Jones (@mr_jasonjones) July 17, 2018

SLIM:

We fixed our roster crunch and got rid of a bad player and a player that could still become a legit NBA player, but hasn’t showed us that he can do it consistently over the past 2 years. The Grizzlies bring in a solid role player, who by all accounts is a great person and a good leader in the locker room. It’s hard for me to find anything to complain about with this move, or really any of the off-season moves. However, anytime everyone is high on the Grizz and their moves, it worries me for whatever reason.

CHIEF:

One solid role player on an expiring deal for the price of two bums. Is the front office making [holds breath] consistently savvy moves? These decisions seem to be in line with a clear vision for this team’s roster: players with high basketball IQs that value defense and role-playing aka Grit ‘n Grind 2.0. Temple also shoots a solid clip from 3 (39%) on a good number of attempts (3.5) and apparently is fantastic in the locker room and in the community:

It was a pleasure covering @GTemp17 the last few seasons. Absolute class act. Great locker room and community guy. He knew he wasn’t part of the plan when he opted in. Memphis is getting a good man. — James Ham (@James_HamNBCS) July 17, 2018

Grizz fans, you're so lucky to be getting @GTemp17. Just a wonderful teammate, wonderful person, amazing leader in the community. — Greg (Harry Giles Fan Account) (@gwiss) July 17, 2018

One of the CHIEF’s mottos: you can never have enough versatile high-IQ wing players that defend and make 3s. The Grizz seem to be obliging. Good job, Chris Wallace (and whoever else). Credit where credit is due.

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Header photo: (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Edit: Since original publishing, Mario Chalmers’ free agent rights have been renounced by the Memphis Grizzlies

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