Mar 19, 2025; Portland, Oregon, USA; Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija (8) shakes hand with Memphis Grizzlies center Jay Huff (30) after a game at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

Memphis Grizzlies Make Announcement on Trail Blazers Trade

Originally posted on Memphis Grizzlies on SI
By Liam Willerup | Last updated Jun 26, 2025 12:35 AM ET

The 2025 NBA Draft was full of surprises, as has been the case with the entire NBA offseason so far. It kicked off with the Memphis Grizzlies moving off Desmond Bane in a deal to the Orlando Magic, and several other trades involving the Phoenix Suns, Boston Celtics, and more have happened. With the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft concluded, the focus now shifts to the second round.

Looking back on the first round, there were plenty of surprises from the lottery to the end of the draft. One of those involved the Grizzlies and the Portland Trail Blazers, as an official statement on their trade has been released.

The @memgrizz today announced the team acquired the draft rights to Cedric Coward (No. 11 overall) from the Portland Trail Blazers for the draft rights to Yang Hansen (No. 16 overall), a future first round draft pick and two future second round draft picks. pic.twitter.com/2aFXMEXoZ9
— Grizzlies PR (@GrizzliesPR) June 26, 2025

The following statement is from Grizzlies PR:

"The Memphis Grizzlies today announced the team acquired the 2025 draft rights to Washington State wing Cedric Coward (No. 11 overall) from the Portland Trail Blazers for the draft rights to center Yang Hansen (No. 16 overall), a future first round draft pick and two future second round draft picks."

Landing Coward, the Grizzlies will hope he can fill the void left by Bane. Coward improved as a three-point shooter throughout his career, but his 40.0% mark this past season was only across six games.

Welcome to the 〽️, Cedric Coward! pic.twitter.com/Vleo3vbfbl
— Memphis Grizzlies (@memgrizz) June 26, 2025

"Coward (6-54, 213) appeared in six games as a senior last season at Washington State and averaged 17.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.7 blocks in 33.0 minutes. He previously played two years at Eastern Washington, where he was named to the 2023-24 All-Big Sky First Team and NABC All-District 6 First Team as a junior."

The Grizzlies have the 48th and 56th picks in the second round on Thursday. With still plenty of talent on the board, some early contributors could still be coming to Memphis.

This article first appeared on Memphis Grizzlies on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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