I had heard for the past couple of days that a trade was a-brewin’ in the NBA. The Grizzlies, who held the No. 17 pick in this year’s NBA draft, wanted to move up to a lottery pick (top 14). Rumor had it that our 4th-year power forward\/center\/unicorn Jaren Jackson Jr. might be a trade piece.<\/p>\n
So about 2:30 in the afternoon I was scrolling through my Facebook feed, and I saw this from the bartender at Max’s Sports Bar:<\/p>\n
I miss Jonas already<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
NOOOOOO! Not the big guy! He was such a great fit for the program!<\/p>\n
Here’s the trade, as reported by Bleacher Report<\/a>:<\/p>\n
Memphis Grizzlies get<\/strong>
\nCenter Steven Adams<\/a>
\nPoint-guard Eric Bledsoe<\/a>
\nPelicans’ No. 10 pick in 2021 draft
\nPelicans’ No. 40 pick in 2021 draft
\nFirst-round pick in 2022 draft (via L.A. Lakers)<\/p>\nNew Orleans Pelicans get<\/strong>
\nCenter Jonas Valanciunas<\/a>
\nGrizzlies’ No. 17 pick in 2021 draft
\nGrizzlies’ No. 51 pick in 2021 draft<\/p>\nThe Pels apparently think Jonas will work better in the frontcourt with Zion Williamson than Steven Adams did, and were willing to do first- and second-round pick swaps with the Grizz in the 2021 draft to get him. They were also willing to throw in the Lakers’ 2022 pick, which most likely will fall in the 15-30 (non-lottery) range. The pick is top 10-protected.<\/p>\n
The Pelicans also dumped a fair amount of salary (both Adams and Bledsoe make about $18 million a year) in the trade. That will give them cap space to sign a free agent or match offers for restricted free agent Lonzo Ball, says ESPN’s Woj.<\/p>\n
Bledsoe almost certainly won’t ever suit up for Memphis. He was brought onboard to be traded for young talent and future picks, as Dwight Howard and Andre Iguodala were last season.<\/p>\n
From Bleacher Report: Biggest winners and losers of Pels-Grizz trade<\/a>. Notable loser: Justise Winslow, who is now going to have his team option declined.<\/p>\n
One player the Grizz are said to have their eye on in the draft is Tennessee guard\/forward Keon Johnson. However, in Bleacher Report’s latest stock up\/stock down<\/a>, Johnson fell to No. 18 so the Grizz wouldn’t have needed to make a move to get him. Call me biased, but if I were Memphis’ front office I’d take a good long look at Arkansas’ Moses Moody.<\/p>\n
Two random pieces of wisdom I overheard yesterday:<\/p>\n
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- If you have sex on a pool table, be sure to put a pillow under your knees. Otherwise the felt will give you rug burns.<\/li>\n
- If you eat catfish out of the Mississippi River, there’s a 90% chance you’re eating dead people. Catfish are bottom-feeders.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
RiverArtsFest comes back Downtown this year<\/a> following a year off for COVID. This year’s event will be held at the Renasant Convention Center. The juried artists’ booths will be inside, safe from the elements. The performances will be outside. The event is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, October 23 and 24.<\/p>\n
If you have Peacock and are willing to stay up a bit late: Olympic™<\/a> basketball, USA vs. Iran, comes on at 11:40 tonight.<\/p>\n
It’s National Chicken Finger Day<\/a>. There are dozens of places you can get those, but I’d recommend the ones at Bardog, fried and buffaloed.<\/p>\n
The Shelby County Commission voted 13-0 yesterday<\/a> to approve Dr. Michelle Taylor as the new head of the Health Department.<\/p>\n