NBA Trade Deadline 2012: Grizzlies Seek Improvement Internally In Stretch Run

The Memphis Grizzlies began the season among those in desperate need of outside help with Darrell Arthur going down for the season and Zach Randolph being put on the shelf for an extended period. But thanks to trades for Marreese Speights and Dante Cunningham and exceptional play by Marc Gasol, Memphis stayed afloat and will look to compete for a top-4 seed once Z-Bo returns.

Memphis could still use some help up front; Gasol is playing a ton of minutes, and that will weigh heavily as the lockout-condensed season will keep a hot pace through April. A center like Chris Kaman or Marcus Camby could be a huge aid, and potentially make Memphis a legit threat in the West. (Grizzlies in the Finals!)

On offense, the Grizzlies' hole is in deep shooting, though the team has always been able to gameplan around that. The Grizzlies are dead last in three-point attempts and No. 22 in conversion rate. O.J. Mayo is the only Grizzly making at least one three-pointer a game; there are 299 such players in the NBA. This team is not crazy about the three-pointer. Adding a legit gunner could help in those cases when Memphis may need to shoot itself back into the game.

The Grizzlies are at $71 million, according to ShamSports.com, just above the luxury tax threshold. It probably makes sense for Memphis to trade Sam Young (12 minutes per game) or Hamed Haddadi (6 minutes per game) and cash for a conditional second-round pick to slip under the threshold.