NBA Trade News: Courtney Lee to Memphis, Jerryd Bayless to Boston

With rumours abounding as the NBA trade deadline is roughly a month away, an actual trade will go down in the next few days. Albeit a minor one, the exchange has a big effect on two of the franchises involved.

The Boston Celtics is set to send shooting guard Courtney Lee to the Memphis Grizzlies for point guard Jerryd Bayless according to Marc Stein of ESPN.COM.

Lee has averaged 7.4 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 26.8 minutes for Boston this season. The Celtics (13-20) are pegged as of the rebuilding teams this year and unloading the 28-year-old guard and his $16.4M contract makes sense for the Celtics.

Bayless has done his part as a back-up to starting PG Mike Conley but has been inconsistent most of the 30 games played this season. The 25-year-old five-year pro averaged 8.0 points, 1.9 rebounds and 2.0 assists in just over 20 minutes for the Grizzlies. The five-year pro has an expiring $3.1M contract after this season.

After the deal is done, the post-trade depth will look like below:

Boston Celtics
PG - Jordan Crawford/Jerryd Bayless/Phil Pressey/Rajon Rondo
SG - Avery Bradley/MarShon Brooks
SF - Jeff Green/Gerald Wallace/Keith Bogans
PF - Brandon Bass/Kris Humphries
C - Jared Sullinger/Kelly Olynyk/Vitor Faverani

Memphis Grizzlies
PG - Mike Conley/Nick Calathes/Seth Curry
SG - Tony Allen/Courtney Lee/Mike Miller/Jamaal Franklin
SF - Tayshaun Prince/James Johnson/Quincy Pondexter
PF - Zach Randolph/Jon Leuer
C - Kosta Koufus/Ed Davis/Marc Gasol

For the Celtics (13-20), the acquisition of Bayless means not only they’ll add a legit point guard but they will save over $10M by unloading Lee’s three-year deal. Meanwhile, the Grizzlies (15-18) will add depth to their wing rotation already featuring the likes of Prince, Allen, Johnson and Pondexter and Lee will certainly help in their mission to return to the postseason.

Both teams are still missing key starters in Gasol and Rondo.