One crazy trade every NBA team should make

15.  Memphis Grizzlies

The Memphis Grizzlies have had the strongest identity in the league for the recent past. The Spurs have been “The Spurs” for longer, but that’s kind of a culture more than a staple of identity. The Heat were the super team prototype, the guys with the target on their chests, but that didn’t last an exceedingly long time. The Warriors have been Death Lineup and Death Lineup++ for a bit, but that legacy is still somewhat brief and still ongoing.

However, during the whole Grit and Grind era you knew exactly who the Grizzlies were and exactly what kind of game you were in for. They even had identifiable teams within that time. Last year they were the team that wouldn’t die. Before that, they were the people who would make you feel pain if you came inside. This year they’ve been the triumvirate of past, present, and future.

And yet, Chandler Parsons is here. He doesn’t fit any of this. Sure, his presumed skills fills the gaps in the Grizzlies skill gaps, but he doesn’t so much. He was never a misfit or dismissed or seeking one more or one final chance. He’s the Cuban partybuddy who’s gotten a lot of money and looks pretty on social media. He is very pretty, though. I’ll give him that. Keep it up, Chandler.

Just keep it up elsewhere. Put him on the Lakers. Get Nick Young in return. He’s proven this year he can keep up the defense, and he’s been put upon enough to maybe fit the culture in a standout-ish way that Parsons can’t. Nick Young needs one more chapter in his story. Chandler’s career doesn’t have a narrative structure. It’s repeated issues of People magazine.

Chandler Parsons to Los Angeles Lakers for Nick Young.