“Think about the guards in the Western Conference, Steph Curry, Luka, Jamal Murray” - NBA analyst believes keeping young star was a no brainer for the Memphis Grizzlies
The Memphis Grizzlies emerged as a possible landing spot for Brooklyn Nets superstar Kevin Durant earlier this week. A whole host of teams were involved or seemed interested in trading for 'The Slim Reaper.'
On ESPN's "Keyshawn, JWill & Max," former NBA player Jay Williams spoke about how the Grizzlies should have been willing to trade everyone barring Ja Morant and Desmond Bane for Durant. Williams believes Bane's ability on the defensive end of the floor is why he is off limits in any trade package.
"Well, I wanna keep Desmond Bane because I like Desmond Bane. I like his growth, like where he's going. Think about the guards in the Western Conference, Steph Curry, Luka, Jamal Murray, Damian Lillard, he can guard one, two," Jay Williams said.
However, this all seems irrelevant now as news broke Tuesday of Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn Nets coming to an accord to stay together.
The Memphis Grizzlies acquiring Kevin Durant while keeping hold of Bane and Ja Morant would have made them the front runners to come out of the highly competitive Western Conference, if not win the championship.
How much could the Memphis Grizzlies have given up for KD?
The Memphis Grizzlies putting together a trade package for Kevin Durant seemed improbable rather than impossible. After a remarkable season that saw them reach the Western Conference semifinals, it wouldn't have made sense for the Grizzlies to break up their young core for a disgruntled superstar.
The Brooklyn Nets' demand for Durant has always been clear — an All-Star at the very least, draft capital and role players. While the Memphis Grizzlies didn't have any All-Stars to part ways with other than Ja Morant, they could have traded a couple of very good players with All-Star potential.
Desmond Bane in 2022:
18.2 PPG
4.4 RPG
46/44/90%
2nd best 3P% in the NBA. https://t.co/txjHiX8ABm
Jaren Jackson Jr. and Dillon Brooks would have had to be included in any deal for the Brooklyn Nets to agree. The former is an incredible defensive player and could have added value to a Nets team that was one of the worst defensively in the league last season. Brooks would also have been a handy scorer for the Nets.
One player that could have really swayed the Nets into doing a deal would have been the inclusion of Desmond Bane. The shooting guard is one of the premier two-way players in the league and is on a rookie scale contract as well. The salaries would have matched if Jackson Jr., Brooks and Bane had been traded for Kevin Durant.
Jaren Jackson Jr has 50 blocks in January.
19 more than the next player. https://t.co/uv7YOsXdkJ
The Grizzlies would also have had to give up draft capital, too. They had five first-rounders that could have been added to the trade. If Memphis could have put together a package around these three players and draft picks, then they could possibly have acquired Kevin Durant.