Tue, Jan 7, 2014 at 12:34pm

LEE TO MEMPHIS, BAYLESS TO BOSTON IN 3-TEAM SWAP

In a 3-team trade, the Memphis Grizzlies acquired guard-forward Courtney Lee and a second-round draft pick in 2016 from the Boston Celtics; the Celtics acquired combo guard Jerryd Bayless from Memphis, plus combo forward Ryan Gomes from the Oklahoma City Thunder; and Oklahoma City acquired a conditional second-round draft pick in 2017 from Memphis.

What does it give the Memphis Grizzlies
The Grizz lost a lot of energy and roster versatility on the wing when sixth man {P Quincy Pondexter} went down with a season-ending foot injury. Adding Lee gives Memphis a nice (and needed) replacement boost in athleticism, youth, size, and perimeter shooting. They've been leaning on the aged {P Mike Miller} lately, but he can only provide so many minutes due to durability issues. Meanwhile Lee can play some point guard and brings more size than Bayless. This is a nice addition by the Grizzlies, even though they take on some extra salary and contract length in Lee (and notably use their {P=1283 Rudy Gay} salary exception here to do so).

What does it give the Boston Celtics
This is obviously a cost-cutting move by the re-tooling young Celts. Bayless will have his affordable contract expire after this season (unlike Lee, who had a more expensive, longer deal) and Gomes is expected to be cut by Boston. In the shorter term the Celtics lose size and positional versatility in Lee, but Bayless is a quality scorer who can handle both guard spots and should give starting point-man {P Jordan Crawford} a few more breathers than he's been getting lately.

What does it give the Oklahoma City Thunder
The Thunder was clearly looking for a way to dump Gomes' contract after he didn't pan out for them, and they do so here by helping the Celtics and Grizzlies make ends meet in this three-team swap. They also get a generally not-too-useful pick in the transaction, but few teams get as much out of the draft as Oklahoma City.

Fantasy impact
Lee should see a nice spike in playing time now that he's with Memphis (likely much more than the 17 minutes per contest he was drawing in Boston). That likely means a little less time for the likes of {P Mike Miller}, {P James Johnson}, and {P Jon Leuer}. The departure of Bayless could, however, mean more opportunities for {P Nick Calathes} backing up at point guard. In Boston, Bayless has a good chance to emerge as the Celtics' third guard (behind {P Jordan Crawford} and {P Avery Bradley}), so his value doesn't change much with this deal. Any fringe fantasy value Gomes had with the Thunder is now gone.