Grizzlies Interested in Dealing Second Overall Pick, But at What Price?

(Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

Earlier this week, reports out of Memphis claimed that the Grizzlies and General Manager Chris Wallace are exploring trade offers for the second overall selection in the upcoming NBA draft.

The Knicks, Rockets, and Celtics are rumored to be three of the teams most seriously interested in acquiring the pick.

The question is, in what most call a relatively weak draft class, what kind of value would the Grizzlies be able to get in exchange for the pick?

New York Knicks

It's quite interesting to hear the Knicks rumored to be interested in trading up, considering their current standing with regards to the roster and player salaries.

Donnie Walsh has come into New York and already done a fantastic job in unloading the hefty contracts of players like Zach Randolph and Jamal Crawford (on the same day, no less), in order to clear salary cap space to attract 2010 free agents like LeBron James and/or Amare Stoudemire, among others.

If they really are interested in moving up to No. 2, it can be safely assumed that New York will have to part with the eighth overall selection they currently hold. This piece is one advantage the Knicks have over the Celtics and Rockets, as neither of those two teams have a first-round pick this year.

The Knicks only have four players potentially under contract as of now for the 2010-2011 seasons; Eddy Curry (player option), Jared Jeffries (player option), Danilo Gallinari (team option), and Wilson Chandler (team option).

The problem with a potential Knicks offer is that they don't have many attractive active players to entice the Grizzlies with. David Lee is undoubtedly the most valuable, and he's a restricted free agent. It does help, however, that he would fill a dire position of need for the Grizzlies as a power forward, and a double-double waiting to happen.

Quite a bit depends on what happens with Lee's contract situation, as far as matching salaries to complete a trade goes. Memphis has several expiring or relatively lucrative contracts they can ship to New York should they be so inclined, including Marko Jaric, Darko Milicic, and Greg Buckner. Who would New York take with the pick?

Assuming Blake Griffin is off the board, Spanish point guard Ricky Rubio seems to have been born to play for Mike D'Antoni. While Rubio may not possess the quickness that Steve Nash does, his court vision and basketball IQ are off-the-charts, and, at 6'4", he will likely be a very, very tough matchup for some of the league's smaller guards.

Boston Celtics

Rumors have been going around recently discussing the Celtics potentially trying to trade point guard Rajon Rondo and/or Ray Allen. What would the Celtics do with the No. 2 pick should they acquire it?

If they end up losing Rondo, it seems only logical that they would select Ricky Rubio, assuming the Clippers don't shock the world by not selecting Blake Griffin. Questions about Rondo's attitude have arisen all year long, and head coach Doc Rivers has even been quoted saying that his teammates sometimes really don't like playing with him.

That being said, Rondo is a supreme talent, having showcased his all-around skills in the two playoff series the Celtics just played. Rondo is listed at 6'1", but has the athleticism (and unusually long arms) to negate his diminutive height.

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