The Memphis Grizzlies and the Los Angeles Clippers made a very surprising trade at the end of the trade deadline last week when they swapped Jeff Green for Lance Stephenson. Memphis also received a first round pick in the deal, but still a lot of people thought the Clippers did well in the deal because Green is a great fit for them. Stephenson was basically an afterthought in this trade, but now that he is in Memphis he is highly motivated to play well, according to Ronald Tillery of The Memphis Commerical Appeal.
Stephenson had a great final year with the Indiana Pacers in the 2013-14 season, and he turned that into a three-year, $27 million contract with the Charlotte Hornets the next summer. Since signing that deal Stephenson has been a disappointment in both Charlotte and Los Angeles (the Clippers traded for him last offseason), but he now feels like he has something to prove in his third stop under this new contract.
There was some thought that after the Grizzlies made the trade to move on from Green that they might waive Stephenson. They decided not to, and in fact general manager Chris Wallace heaped praise upon the 25-year-old guard, according to Tillery.
"He is a very tough, versatile player who can handle the ball and guard multiple positions. He's got every reason to be very motivated and help us. He was one of the best shooters coming into the 2010 draft. He's a young guy who the book hasn't been written on," said Wallace.
Wallace was certainly right that Stephenson is extra motivated now that he is on his third team in the past two years. In his first game with the Grizzlies Stephenson played 22 minutes and scored 16 points off the bench while making six of his 10 shots. Stephenson is the kind of player that likes to have the ball in his hands, and he feels like being with the Grizzlies will give him the opportunity to play his game.
The argument could be made that the Grizzlies won the trade just because they got a first round pick out of Green, whom they desperately wanted to move on from. But Stephenson is a wildcard here because he has shown in the past that he can be a huge difference maker. Stephenson is an extremely good defender who can do a lot of things on offense, including make plays, when he is engaged. The Grizzlies have a club option on Stephenson for next year at about $9.4 million, so the rest of this season will be an audition for him. If Stephenson plays well they might want to keep him around, and he certainly seems motivated enough to at least have them think about picking up the option.
