NBA Trade Deadline 2018: The 20 best players available

8. Tyreke Evans, Memphis Grizzlies

When Mike Conley went down with a sore left heel and Achilles tendon in mid-November, it effectively spelled an end to the Memphis Grizzlies’ playoff hopes. Now that they’re firmly perched near the bottom of the Western Conference standings, they must confront difficult questions about their next steps.

One decision that shouldn’t give them much pause? Their need to flip Tyreke Evans at the deadline to the highest bidder.

Evans, who signed a one-year, $3.3 million contract with Memphis this past offseason, is in the midst of his best season since his Rookie of the Year campaign in 2009-10. He’s been a much-needed breath of fresh air to a Grizzlies team in search for a reliable third option alongside Conley and Marc Gasol, as he’s Memphis’ leading scorer and is drilling a career-high percentage of his three-point shot attempts.

However, the Grizzlies don’t possess Early Bird or Bird rights for Evans, which restricts how much they’re able to give him on a new contract this summer. Considering they are already well above the projected $101 million salary cap, the most they’d be able to offer is the mid-level exception, which any non-taxpaying team can likewise do. Barring a significant shakeup—which we’ll get to shortly—Memphis likely doesn’t have the financial wherewithal to retain Evans past July.

It should thus come as no surprise to hear the Grizzlies are shopping him for a first-round pick, according to Wojnarowski. Finding a team willing to meet that asking price “is likely to prove difficult,” Woj reported, but perhaps Memphis can find a desperate franchise in win-now mode willing to part with a late first-rounder to bolster its bench.

Next: 7. Lou Williams