HOOPSAHOLIC

Well it's trade season in the NBA, and the Grizzlies have made it no secret that they're going all-in for a championship after acquring Jeff Green from the Celtics in a five player trade. Memphis sits in fourth place in a loaded Western Conference, but the Grizzlies are a mere 5-5 over their last ten games, and it was evident they needed to make some type of move if they wanted to take the next step as a team. 

The addition of Green to this roster makes a ton of sense, and I give Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace a lot of credit for pulling it off. It was clear that Memphis wanted to make a move to snag a small forward, and there were even rumors the Grizzlies pursuing the Heat's Luol Deng. Over the last few seasons the small forward position has been the Grizzlies' weak spot in the starting lineup. Memphis had to move Twelve-year NBA veteran Tayshaun Prince, who's been filling that role over the couple of seasons. In the nicest way possible, it's evident that Prince has seen better days in his career. I'm not saying Prince is a scrub, but I am saying that he's no longer a starting wing player in this league. This season he's only started nine games, but last season the former Kentucky Wildcat started 76 games for Memphis. Prince has great length and athleticism, but his shot has never been one of his strengths, and this season he's averaging only 7.3 points per game to go with 3.2 rebounds. Though the Grizzlies have one of the league's top records, they rank near the middle of the pack offensively. Memphis averages 101.8 points per game right now, but the addition of Green will surely increase that team scoring average. Green was the Celtics leading scorer this season, averaging 17.6 points per game to go with 4.3 rebounds so that ten point increase at the small forward position will surely pay off in the long run. 

Prince was used so much throughout his career because of his length and defensive prowess, but right now that's not what the Grizzlies need. Memphis has the best wing defender in the NBA with Tony Allen on the roster, but playing both Allen and Prince at the same time really limited Memphis offensively. There were multiple times in the playoffs last year when head coach Dave Joerger had to bench Prince for extended periods of time against OKC due to his lack of offensive production. I've even heard Grantland's Zach Lowe refer to Prince as the, "Kendrick Perkins of wing players," and that's definitely not a compliment. 

Green now joins an offense that features Marc Gasol (19.5 ppg), Mike Conley (18.3 ppt) and Zach Randolph (16.3 ppt). With the trade this roster went from likely pretenders to legit contenders. Memphis was obviously good before, but they haven't been able to get over that championship hump. This season is extremely important since it's the last year on Gasol's four-year deal and he'll be entering a center-hungry market when he hits free agency this summer. If the Grizzlies want to hold onto Gasol they need to show they're committed to win now, and so far with the Green move it appears that's what they're trying to do.