Grizzlies' slide down standings was prompted by bizarre trade deadline

The Grizzlies were 35-16 and in second place in the Western Conference when they gave up a first-round pick to trade Marcus Smart to the Washington Wizards, primarily to get rid of his $21.6M salary for 2025-26. They also traded Jake LaRavia, who was averaging 21 minutes a game, to the Sacramento Kings while acquiring Marvin Bagley III and Johnny Davis — the latter was promptly released.

Since that move, the Grizzlies are 8-11. They rank 19th in defense, just ahead of Smart's new team, the Wizards. The Grizzlies are now two games out of second place, but only two games clear of sixth place. If they lose to the Los Angeles Clippers Friday night, they'll be only 2.5 games clear of the play-in tournament.

It's rare to see an aspiring contender intentionally subtract rotation players midseason, especially while giving up a first-round pick to do it. Their deadline activity suggested the front office didn't have confidence in the team's playoff future, focusing on the moves they want to make in July and not the games they were going to play in April and May.

The moves were also effectively do-overs for other front-office mistakes. The team dealt two first-round picks to acquire Smart in 2023 and used another to get rid of him. During the 2022 draft, Memphis traded two first-round picks to move up and take LaRavia, then declined to pick up his fourth-year option, tanking his trade value.

The Grizzlies tried to give themselves flexibility by dumping players, but the downside is that they're a good team right now. They should have learned from last season's rash of injuries that a window of contention can close quickly, whether it's injuries, suspensions or shedding players while their rivals are improving.

The Grizzlies are already in danger of losing home-court advantage, and they're risking even a guaranteed playoff spot. For the front office, the salary savings might come with a big loss in wins.