Grizzlies Reportedly Looking To Trade Recently-Acquired Guard

Grizzlies Reportedly Looking To Trade Recently-Acquired Guard

Cole Anthony On Trade Block

It was on June 15 when Anthony learned it was time to pack his bags. He was heading to a new team after only calling just one place home in his NBA career. The Magic traded Anthony along with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and multiple first round picks to the Grizzlies for Desmond Bane.

Per Marc Stein, Anthony may never wear that Memphis uniform, at least if it were up to the Grizzlies. On his Substack account, Stein wrote,

“League sources say Memphis spent the weekend actively trying to shed the contract of newly acquired Cole Anthony,who joined the Grizzlies as part of the Desmond Bane trade with Orlando, by finding a trade partner willing to absorb his salary.”

It probably shouldn’t be much of a surprise to hear Memphis is looking to flip Anthony so soon after acquiring him. That is because the team already employs both Ja Morant and Scotty Pippen Jr. as their two top point guards. The team also rosters Vince Williams Jr. and the also recently-added Caldwell-Pope as backcourt players.

In 2023, Anthony signed a three-year rookie extension worth $39.1 million. He will be in the second year of that deal in 2025-26. He then has a club option in 2026-27 (both worth $13.1 million).

Career-Low Playing Time Last Season

Still just 25 years old, Anthony played a few roles for the Magic during his tenure. He became a starter for the team early in his rookie year, a role he had full-time in the following season as well. The last three seasons has seen the 6-foot-2 point guard in more of a reserve role (made 22 starts in 2024-25, just four total in the two previous years).

In his 67 outings last season, Anthony posted averages of 9.4 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 2.9 assists in 18.4 minutes. The son of former NBA player Greg Anthony shot 42.4% from the field, 35.3% from three-point range, and 82.3% from the free-throw line. It was a career-low in minutes for him as well as the first time that he did not average double figures in scoring.

The shooting percentages from last season were fairly similar to his career shooting percentage splits of 41.9/34.5/84.7. Anthony did have his struggles in the Magic’s five-game opening round loss to the Boston Celtics. He averaged just 2.2 points while shooting just 4-14 from the field (0-6 on three-pointers).

There should be some type of market though for a not-so-expensive guard who at times can get hot and score in droves. Some teams that come to mind that may be interested in Anthony’s services off the bench include the New York Knicks and Denver Nuggets.