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NBA Trade Rumors: Grizzlies Could Deal Tyreke Evans, Celtics, Blazers Emerge As Potential Landing Spots

By Raymund Tamayo
Published on: 21:27 PST, Jan 30, 2018

Memphis Grizzlies shooting guard Tyreke Evans is the subject of the latest trade rumors with only eight days to go before the NBA trade deadline. Several teams are rumored to be interested in him as he has been playing the best season of his career since his remarkable rookie season.

Evans, 28, is averaging team-highs in points and assists with 19.5 and 5.0, as well as recording 5.0 rebounds and 1.0 steals in 31.1 minutes per game in 46 games for the Grizzlies so far this season. He has also been a consistent threat from the outside, shooting 39.2 percent from downtown, while his PER rating is currently 21.8, the highest in his nine-year career.

Evans’ affordable contract only makes him a much more attractive trade target. He is owed $3.3 million by Memphis for this season before entering unrestricted free agency this July.

Truly, Evans’ present status has made him ripe for a trade as the Grizzlies are expected to maximize his value to get something in return rather than lose him for nothing in the summer. Reports are out that Memphis wants nothing less than a first-round draft pick for the former NBA Rookie of the Year awardee.

At the moment, Evans is closely linked to two clubs and they are the Boston Celtics and Portland Trail Blazers.

When it comes to what the Grizzlies may actually want in return, the Celtics are said to be the best team they could reach an agreement with. Boston has the picks, the salary cap space, and a disabled player exception gained through Gordon Hayward’s injury to give them a high-value offer. With all of that in place, Danny Ainge and company can even get Evans without losing any player, according to SB Nation’s Celtics Blog.

Evans would be a valuable substitute wing player that could spell for Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown while either of the young duo is taking a rest. He could also provide a much-needed offensive spark off the bench and is considered a complement to another offensive-minded guard in Terry Rozier.

Meanwhile, the Blazers are also speculated to be interested in acquiring Evans before the deadline. Oregon Live‘s Molly Blue reported that Portland could target Evans soon, but it is not certain whether the team is ready to give up their 2018 first-round draft pick in exchange for the hot-shooting veteran.

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