This three-team trade involving Dillon Brooks could help the Grizzlies

Fewer than 20 games into the 2021-22 NBA season, the Memphis Grizzlies have already had a full season’s worth of up-and-down moments. I’ve mentioned it before and I’ll mention it again — Memphis has beaten the best team in the league and lost to the worst team in the league.

Many fingers are pointing to coaching, while others are chalking this up to the Grizzlies still having one of the youngest teams in the league. The Grizzlies are the second-youngest in the league to just the Detroit Pistons.

So while expectations should still be relatively low, could this team benefit from a trade and continue the rebuild? Here’s a fan-created deal that could potentially help them reach their end goal.

The Memphis Grizzlies could deal out Dillon Brooks for a younger wing and a first-round pick

Let me start this by clarifying that this is not a real trade — it’s a hypothetical. A large portion of every fanbase tends to overreact and seemingly wants those who write trade hypotheticals put in prison. It’s not that serious.

With that behind us, allow me to get into the deal. Here’s what it looks like.

Sometimes these figures can get confusing, so allow me to clarify. The Grizzlies would be giving up Dillon Brooks — that’s it. In exchange, they’d be receiving Malik Beasley, Jaden McDaniels, and a 2022 first-round pick from the Philadelphia 76ers.

With the way that the Grizzlies have performed this year, it seems like their chances of competing in the NBA Playoffs are extremely slim. They are currently in the 7th spot, which would land them in the play-in tournament again, but they’re only a half-game away from being tied with the 6th-seeded team.

But could this team win a seven-game series against a top-seeded playoff team? It doesn’t seem likely right now. This trade works on the basis that the Grizzlies need another year or two to rebuild.

Memphis would be shipping off Dillon Brooks, the heart and soul of this team. The risk is high in this move, though this Grizz team was playing great basketball when he was sidelined with a hand injury early in the year. In losing Brooks, Taylor Jenkins’ team would be losing 19.3 points per game and 1.2 steals per game.

They’d be receiving a player who can match that scoring output in return in Malik Beasley. Unfortunately, Beasley is averaging fewer than 10 PPG this year. That said, the Timberwolves’ wing averaged 19.6 last season in 37 games. The 24-year-old could plug into that Dillon Brooks role, while his age would match the Grizzlies’ roster better.

With a strong start for Brooks and a poor start for Beasley, there wouldn’t be a better time to make this deal. The Grizzlies would also give themselves more wiggle room and a potential trade piece in a future first-round pick. If Zach Kleiman still plans to build, this could be a strong trade.

That said, as per usual, this is more of a stepping-off-point than an actual realistic trade.