The Memphis Grizzlies acquired small forward Darrell Arthur in a trade with the Rockets on draft night. Arthur was a big reason that the Kansas Jayhawks won the National Championship last season and he should help the Grizzlies this year. The only negative about Arthur is that he has a kidney condition that could affect him down the road. Arthur is 6′9″, 225 pounds but he’s basically a small forward. He played in 78 games (36 starts) for Kansas and he averaged 11.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 1.4 blocked shots per game. Arthur also is a very unselfish player who only takes good shots as evidenced by his 54.1% FG percentage at Kansas. Arthur will be a good NBA player as long as his health holds up and he could be a major steal for the Grizzlies.

The Memphis Grizzlies made a huge trade after the NBA Draft last night. The Grizzlies have acquired rookie shooting guard O.J. Mayo, guard Marko Jaric, forward Antoine Walker and G/F Greg Buckner from the Timberwolves for rookie forward Kevin Love, forward/guard Mike Miller, forward Brian Cardinal and center Jason Collins. The key to the deal for the Grizzlies was O.J. Mayo who was the #3 pick in this year’s draft. Mayo will take over as the starting shooting guard from day #1 for the Grizzlies. Marko Jaric is 6′7″, 224 pounds and he can handle either guard slot. Jaric played in 75 games (56 starts) last year for the Timberwolves and he averaged 29.2 minutes, 8.3 points, 3.0 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.3 steals per game. He’s a decent player but he’s not a difference maker so expect him to contribute around his career norms. Jaric has now played in 394 games (221 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 27.0 minutes, 7.8 points, 2.9 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.4 steals per game. 31-year old Antoine Walker appears to be on the downside of his NBA career. He played in 46 games (1 start) for the T-Wolves last season and he averaged 8.0 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game. It’s doubtful that Walker will find the fountain of youth in Memphis and he is a selfish gunner when he’s on the court so the Grizzlies might limit his playing time. Walker has now played in 893 games (707 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 17.5 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.2 steals per game. 31-year old G/F Greg Buckner was the final player the Grizzlies received and he is nothing more than a reserve. Buckner played in 31 games (4 starts) for the Timberwolves last season and he averaged 4.0 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. Buckner has now played in 507 games (117 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 5.4 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. This whole trade hinges on O.J. Mayo’s NBA career as he’s the only player likely to make an impact that the Grizzlies acquired in this trade.

The Grizzlies have waived Marcus Vinicius before he even played a game for them. They like there current roster of younger players and they didn’t think Vinicius warranted take any minutes away from any of them.

The Hornets have acquired Marcus Vinicius and cash from the Hornets for basically nothing. The Hornets then acquired the draft rights to Malick Badiene from the Rockets for the draft rights of Sergei Lishchuk. Vinicius played in 13 games (0 starts) for the Hornets this season and he averaged 5.3 minutes, 2.2 points, 0.6 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game. He has now played in 26 games (0 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 1.9 points, 0.7 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game. The Grizzlies were involved in this trade for salary cap reasons and that’s why they essentially got something for nothing.

The Grizzlies have traded reserve power forward Stromile Swift to the New Jersey Nets for center Jason Collins. Swift played in 35 games (4 starts) for the Grizzlies this season. Collins can play either power forward or center but he’s a little soft despite his size. He played in 43 games (23 starts) for the Nets this season and he averaged 15.9 minutes, 1.4 points, 2.1 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game. Collins has now played in 510 games (404 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 24.5 minutes, 4.4 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. This trade was made for money reasons as Swift is the superior basketball player between these two guys.

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