The Memphis Grizzlies are finalizing a trade that would send Jonas Valanciunas and picks Nos. 17 and 51 at the 2021 NBA Draft to the New Orleans Pelicans for Steven Adams, Eric Bledsoe, the 10th and 40th selection and a protected 2022 first-round pick, according to ESPN‘s Adrian Wojnarowski.
The deal will see the Pelicans save more than $21 million in cap space, potentially in an effort to make a run at Toronto Raptors star Kyle Lowry in free agency.
A Lowry signing would reunite him Valanciunas, who’s spent nearly three seasons in Memphis since joining the Grizzlies from the Raptors in a trade that brought Marc Gasol to Toronto.
The 29-year-old big man averaged 17.1 and 12.5 rebounds on 59.2 per cent shooting from the field with Memphis last season.
The Grizzlies, meanwhile, move up in Thursday’s draft and receive veteran guard Bledsoe, who put up 12.2 points and 3.8 assists with the Pelicans last season, and bruising centre Adams, who averaged 7.6 points and 8.9 boards in New Orleans across the 2020-21 campaign.
