The Cleveland Cavaliers and Memphis Grizzlies have combined to initiate the first trade of the NBA season.
ESPN.com reported the deal, which involves four total players and a future first-round draft pick. Let's look at the details:
Cavs Receive: F/C Marreese Speights, G Wayne Ellington, G Josh Selby, Future first-round pick
Grizzlies Receive: F Jon Leuer
On the surface this seems like a landslide win for the Cavs, but really the deal benefits both teams.
Memphis was a small-market team with a big-market payroll. With players like Zach Randolph, Rudy Gay, Marc Gasol and Mike Conley all locked in to big-money extensions, the Grizzlies were way above the NBA's salary cap and beyond the luxury tax threshold.
With this trade, Memphis saves roughly $6 million in cap space that brings them back down into non-taxable zone.
This is huge not only for the money, but by trading Speights, Ellington and Selby, the Grizzlies can afford to keep Rudy Gay, who was once again popping up in trade rumors.
In regards to the future first-round pick, here is a breakdown courtesy of the ESPN.com ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NBA
Article written by Greg Swartz
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