Who the Orlando Magic could target for a trade in the Southwest Division
By Dan Bennett
Memphis Grizzlies: Dillon Brooks
The Memphis Grizzlies are a team with an exciting young core of players on low salaries including Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. That will make trading with the team very tricky. There simply are no big salaries for the Magic to match or even add secondary pieces to.
Memphis is unlikely to want to entertain trade proposals for their young talent which limits the options the Magic have when it comes to any possible deals with Memphis.
Dillon Brooks is seemingly the most sensible and realistic trade target on the Grizzlies roster. The young shooting guard averaged 16.2 points per game last season off 40.7-percent shooting. He shot 35.8-percent from 3-point range, making two per game.
After an injury-hit 2019 season when he played just 18 games, Brooks has since established himself as a key part of a Grizzlies team which almost made it to the postseason. He is offensively skilled and possesses different ways to score while he is an effective ball handler that can create a shot off the dribble.
Brooks has also shown potential on the defensive end. He averaged almost a steal per game last season and finished with a defensive rating of 108.9 for the season while showing he is capable of guarding the better players at his position in the league.
A trade for Brooks would not be easy to pull off, however. He provides good value for his contract and at 24 has plenty of time to get better. Morant and Jackson Jr. are two of the league’s brightest prospects and Brooks is an effective partner for them.
Offering a proven scorer like Evan Fournier could help Memphis improve next season by giving them another veteran to provide seasoning for a playoff run. But it would be a short-term move which sacrifices long-term gain.
The Grizzlies are in a good position and may be reluctant to lose their young talent unless there is a trade they believe would give them a better chance of contending in the postseason over the coming years.