The Memphis Grizzlies are trying to bolster their roster in the hope of making a strong push in the second half of the season in the competitive Western Conference.
Marc Stein, an NBA insider from ESPN, the Grizzlies are making an aggressive bid to acquire Luol Deng from the Miami Heat or Jeff Green from the Boston Celtics several weeks before the trade deadline on Feb. 19.
Sources indicated that Grizzlies executives are eager to make moves after other Western Conference contenders improved their roster over the past several weeks.
The Dallas Mavericks struck a blockbuster deal to acquire Rajon Rondo from the Boston Celtics, while the Houston Rockets added Corey Brewer and Josh Smith. The Oklahoma City Thunder, who are looking to make the playoffs as well, acquired Dion Waiters in a three-team deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks.
Among their top targets, Green is the more realistic option for the Grizzlies. Previous reports indicated that the Celtics are also shopping the 28-year-old small forward, who is averaging 17.6 points to go along with 4.3 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game this season.
Zach Lowe, another NBA insider from Grantland, also confirmed that the Grizzlies are indeed aggressively pursuing Green, who they view as an upgrade to their wing rotation.
Lowe said that the Grizzlies were in talks about a deal that would send Green to Memphis, Kosta Koufos to Cleveland, and future draft picks to Boston, but the talks went down after the Cavaliers acquired Timofey Mozgov from the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night.
On the other hand, the Grizzlies are holding hope that the Miami Heat will slide out of playoff contention, knowing that such scenario could convince the reigning Eastern Conference champions to part ways with Deng.
Deng, who signed a two-year deal worth $19.9 million in the offseason to take the place vacated by LeBron James after the superstar decided to return to Cleveland, is averaging 14.1 points and 4.8 rebounds this season.
It is unclear at this point if the Heat will really consider trading Deng before the deadline. But according to Stein, league executives are convinced that there will come a point where the Heat will be very open to moving the veteran forward for draft picks or any other future assets.
The Grizzlies, who are currently in third place in the ever-competitive Western Conference with their 25-10 record, are reportedly willing to package draft picks with Tayshaun Prince's $7.7 million expiring contract.
