Just less than 24 hours after news broke that a three-team trade had been completed between the Boston Celtics, Memphis Grizzlies, and New Orleans Pelicans, two of those teams squared off. It ended up being the Jeff Green-less Celtics who topped the Pelicans 108-100. Meaningless, however, and certainly no indication of the results of the trade seeing that none of the players involved saw action in the game.
In a trade that had the Grizzlies googly-eyed, the Pelicans were simply along for the ride. After failing to acquire Green last season, the Grizzlies finally got their man, sending Tayshaun Prince along with his $7.7 million expiring contract to the Celtics, while shipping Quincy Pondexter to New Orleans. The Pelicans sent Russ Smith to the Grizzlies accompanied by a trade exception in return for a 2015 second round pick, while the Celtics received Austin Rivers from the Pelicans and a protected future first round draft pick from the Grizzlies.
The trade comes at a time when the Grizzlies needed it most, getting just their fifth win in 12 games on Sunday. Jeff Green is having a career year, averaging 17.6 points per game as the Celtics' leading scorer. The seventh-year forward now joins a Grizzlies squad that has slipped in the standings after starting the season as an early favorite to compete for an NBA title. The trade is certainly a win for the Griz, as they get the pleasure of dumping Prince, who had started nine games this season, averaging 7.3 points per game as the primary backup for Tony Allen. Green becomes the third former-Celtic on the Grizzlies' roster, joining Allen as well as Courtney Lee, who was traded to the Grizzlies last January. Green will likely serve as a valuable bench player, unless head coach David Joerger elects to go with a bigger lineup, which would likely only happen when Marc Gasol or Zach Randolph need a night off. Nonetheless, the Grizzlies got what they were looking for dating back to last season and undoubtedly strengthened their roster.
After dumping Rajon Rondo several weeks back, the Celtics ridded themselves of their next-best asset, continuing their rebuilding process of clearing their roster of noteworthy players in exchange for draft picks. Danny Ainge has expressed his desire to obtain draft picks as the Celtics continue their rebuilding process. Ainge, however, expressed that he is not done exploring the trade market and will likely unload multiple picks along with players moving forward. Tayshaun Prince is already as good as gone come season's end, which would leave Jameer Nelson and Gerald Wallace as the only players on the team over the age of 30. Rivers has not made much noise in the NBA and may also been on his way out. A short stay with his father's old team may ultimately lead to the two teaming up on the Los Angeles Clippers.
As for the Pelicans, who were basically roped into the trade, they got what they wanted in Quincy Pondexter as well as a future second-round pick, while unloading two young and unproven guards. Pondexter was the bait that brought the Pelicans, who were reportedly interested in the fifth-year guard, into the deal. Pondexter (6'7") may weave his way into a starting lineup that has been unable to find a definitive shooting forward. Sitting just two and one half games out of a playoff spot, the Pelicans have slightly upgraded their roster by addressing a need. However, this deal did not give them enough and they will likely need to rely on a skid from a superior team in order to reach the postseason.
Overall, each team got what they wanted, but the Grizzlies came out on top.