{"id":99147,"date":"2025-06-14T22:41:10","date_gmt":"2025-06-14T22:41:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/99147\/"},"modified":"2025-06-14T22:41:10","modified_gmt":"2025-06-14T22:41:10","slug":"grizzlies-targeting-trail-blazers-forward-deni-avdija","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/99147\/","title":{"rendered":"Grizzlies Targeting Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Memphis Grizzlies<\/a> had a nice bounce-back season after a difficult 2023-24 campaign. With Memphis<\/a> three stars under contract for the upcoming season, the Grizzlies are looking to add pieces around the edges. One potential target for the Grizzlies is Portland Trail Blazers<\/a> forward Deni Avdija<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cPortland Trail Blazers<\/a>\u00a0small forward\u00a0Deni Avdija\u00a0has emerged as a trade target for the\u00a0Memphis Grizzlies in multiple conversations with league sources,\u201d said Clutch Points Chris Dodson<\/a>. \u201cConventional wisdom and recent NBA Playoffs results suggest the\u00a0Grizzlies do not need another superstar to contend; Ja Morant<\/a>, Desmond Bane<\/a>, and Jaren Jackson Jr<\/a>. just need the right finishing piece to maximize their potential. It seems EVP\/GM Zach Kleiman sees the benefits of that approach with new head coach Tuomas Iisalo<\/a> at the helm with the interest in Avdija.\u201d<\/p>\n

Memphis Grizzlies Reportedly Eyeing Israeli Forward In Trade<\/p>\n

A year after winning just 27 games, Memphis finished eighth in the Western Conference<\/a> with a 48-34 record despite star point guard Ja Morant missing 32 games. While the 21-game improvement is an achievement, the Grizzlies struggled down the stretch.<\/p>\n

Memphis went 10-13 from March 1 on, which was just the 18th-best record in the league during this stretch, including losing 11 of their last 18. Health was a significant factor for the Grizzlies, as no player appeared in all 23 contests, with Morant missing 10 of those final games. Vince Williams Jr.<\/a> and GG Jackson<\/a> missed a combined 106 games.<\/p>\n

Still, Memphis made the playoffs for the fourth time in five years after defeating Dallas to earn the Western Conference\u2019s eighth seed in the final game of the Western Conference Play-In Tournament. However, the shorthanded Grizzlies were dispatched easily by Oklahoma City in the first round of the playoffs. The Thunder swept the Grizzlies, winning the four games by nearly 20 points a game as Memphis averaged 100 points for the series.<\/p>\n

Grizzlies Potential<\/p>\n

Despite Memphis\u2019\u00a0 poor finish to the season, the Grizzlies do have a lot to look forward to under first-year coach\u00a0 Tuomas Iisalo. The Grizzlies were one of the deepest teams and had one of the top benches in the league.<\/p>\n

Memphis used 23 different starting lineups this past season. The Grizzlies\u2019 most common starting unit \u2014 Morant, Jackson, Bane, Jaylen Wells<\/a>, Zach Edey<\/a> \u2014 were 13-12. This group of five players was +24.9 points per 100 possessions.<\/p>\n

Jackson was an NBA All-Star for the second time in his career and is one of the top two bigs in the league. Bane was healthy for the first time in three seasons, appearing in 69 contests, while Santi Aldama<\/a> and Scotty Pippen Jr<\/a>. continued their development. Wells and Edey were pleasant surprises as both players earned first-team All-Rookie team honors.<\/p>\n

Memphis had the sixth-best offense, and the Grizzlies were 11th in defensive rating. The Grizzlies were one of the best offensive-rebounding teams in the NBA, although they struggled on the defensive boards. Turnovers, transition defense, and 3-point shooting are areas where the Griz need to improve.<\/p>\n

Depth at small forward and center are the Grizzlies\u2019 biggest positions that need to be addressed.<\/p>\n

Memphis has 11 players on standard contracts with a salary cap hit of $135.93 million. The Grizzlies are over $19 million under the cap. Aldama, Cam Spencer<\/a> (two-way player), and Yuki Kawamura<\/a> (two-way) are restricted free agents.\u00a0 Meanwhile, Marvin Bagley III<\/a>., Luke Kennard<\/a>, and Lamar Stevens<\/a> are unrestricted free agents.<\/p>\n

Deni Avdija\u2019s Fit With Memphis
\n\"\"April 6, 2025; Portland, Oregon, USA; Portland Trail Blazers small forward Deni Avdija (8) looks on before the game against the San Antonio Spurs at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Avdija would be an ideal fit for Memphis. The 24-year-old Israeli national is very versatile, able to play three positions (SG, SF, PF), and has shown tremendous strides in his growth over the last two seasons. He excels in all the little things and is an underrated defender.<\/p>\n

Avdja can score in a variety of ways. While he has improved as a shooter, the 6-9 forward is the best with the ball in his hands and slashing to the hoop. He can create for himself and others and play the two-man game in ball screen situations.<\/p>\n

Avdja is coming off a career season with the Trail Blazers. Avidja averaged 16.9 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.0 steals. He produced 17 double-doubles and two triple-doubles while shooting 47.6\/36.5\/78.<\/p>\n

Avdija has three years and $39.3 million left on his contract. However, it is a very favorable deal, as Avdija\u2019s salary is on a decreasing trajectory. He makes $14.3 million this upcoming season.<\/p>\n

According to Dodson, the cost of acquiring Avdija will not be cheap, especially in terms of future capital. Trading for Avdija will likely cost the Grizzlies one of the following \u2014 Jackson, Edey, or Wells.\u00a0 Dodson also added that the Blazers will also likely ask for multiple first-rounders.<\/p>\n

Photo Credit: \u00a9 Petre Thomas, Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Memphis Grizzlies had a nice bounce-back season after a difficult 2023-24 campaign. With Memphis three stars under…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":99148,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3795],"tags":[4330,7,980,497,294,178,293,177,4070,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-99147","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-memphis-grizzlies","8":"tag-2025-nba-trade-rumors","9":"tag-basketball","10":"tag-deni-avdija","11":"tag-desmond-bane","12":"tag-grizzlies","13":"tag-ja-morant","14":"tag-memphis","15":"tag-memphis-grizzlies","16":"tag-memphisgrizzlies","17":"tag-nba"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/114684132365617997","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99147","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99147"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99147\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/99148"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99147"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99147"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99147"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}