Mon, Jul 22, 2013 at 3:24pm

GRIZZ GET POINT PROSPECT CALATHES FROM MAVS

The Memphis Grizzlies acquired the rights to point guard Nick Calathes from the Dallas Mavericks in return for removing protection conditions from a previously-acquired 2016 second-round draft pick.

What does it give the Memphis Grizzlies
Calathes is one of the better point guards playing in Europe and he was an NCAA star with Florida a few years back. The Grizz obviously like his chances of being a useful NBA player sometime soon, especially after Calathes was named this past season's EuroCup MVP (playing with Russian team Lokomotiv Kuban). Memphis still has to sign Calathes and get him back to North America, but he projects as a solid backup point guard with enough size to play some shooting guard.

What does it give the Dallas Mavericks
The Mavs are suddenly flush with quality point guards after drafting {P Shane Larkin} and then signing {P Jose Calderon} and {P Gal Mekel}. Those moves made Calathes expendable, so Dallas at least gets something for him here. A second-round pick usually doesn't result in a star (although it can result in useful players such as Calathes, who was the No. 45 selection overall in 2009), but at least the pick--which was acquired in an earlier trade--no longer has any conditions on it.

Fantasy impact
If Calathes makes it over to the NBA this season he has a chance to push for the Grizzlies' top backup point guard job (behind starter {P Mike Conley}). That likely hurts the fantasy prospects of fellow reserves {P Jerryd Bayless} and {P Tony Wroten}, but it doesn't mean Calathes is quite ready to be on the fantasy radar yet (even in the deepest of leagues). This swap changes nothing in Dallas roster-wise.