Grizzlies Rumors: Tyus Jones Trade Being Explored to Help PG Get Starting Role
The Memphis Grizzlies are reportedly exploring the possibility of trading point guard Tyus Jones.
According to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, the Grizzlies are looking at potential trades that would result in Jones becoming a starter elsewhere after he spent the past four seasons as a backup to Ja Morant.
Fischer opined that sending Jones to the Toronto Raptors as part of a deal for wing O.G. Anunoby could be an option if guard Fred VanVleet leaves the Raptors in free agency.
In terms of reserve point guards, it can be argued that the 27-year-old Jones is the best in the league, as he consistently produces when given the opportunity.
Jones appeared in 80 games last season and made 22 starts, matching the second-most starts of his career. He also set career highs in minutes per game (24.3), points per game (10.3), assists per game (5.2) and rebounds per game (2.5).
Morant was suspended eight games last season for appearing to hold a gun in an Instagram video at a Denver nightclub, which paved the way for Jones to step in.
The NBA suspended Morant for the first 25 games next season for another instance of him flashing a gun on Instagram Live, which perhaps increases Jones' importance to the team significantly.
Jones will be in line to start for nearly one-third of the season if he stays in Memphis, but Fischer noted that the Grizzlies' primary focus is wing help, and they could try to use Jones as a trade chip to get it.
Memphis was the second-best team in the Western Conference during the 2022-23 regular season, although it fell to the seventh-seeded Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the playoffs.
Still, the Grizz are set to return a supremely talented core next season that includes Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Desmond Bane.
Wing was already a weak spot, and it could get even worse if veteran Dillon Brooks signs elsewhere in free agency. That would leave Memphis with a huge hole on the roster, although trading Jones would do the same due to a lack of point guard depth otherwise.
Jones re-signed with the Grizzlies on a two-year, $29 million contract last offseason, and his contract could be the biggest factor in favor of trading him.
After the 2023-24 season, Memphis could lose Jones for nothing if he would rather leave and start elsewhere, so trading him and getting a wing with some term would perhaps be the best thing for the Grizzlies over the long haul.
