No Griz deal, no problem

Just before Thursday’s NBA trade deadline, the Memphis Grizzlies swung a deal to acquire Toney Douglas and Brandan Wright. What, you’re not buying that? Yeah, me neither. Brandan Wright is finally healthy, which is excellent to see.

Toney Douglas was a free agent all year who hadn’t been picked up by any other team.

Two useful players. Two players the Grizzlies believe will help them win some games down the stretch.

But this idea that the Grizzlies have essentially “acquired” Douglas and Wright? Silliness.

The truth is the Grizzlies didn’t acquire anyone at the trade deadline. And that’s perfectly OK.

At least the Grizzlies weren’t dumping players, like they were at the trade deadline last season.

At least they didn’t squander a first-round pick on Jeff Green, like they did in January of 2015.

The Grizzlies like their roster. The Grizzlies didn’t see what they could accomplish without giving up pieces they believe might help them win a playoff round this year. So they stood pat. Which was entirely defensible. No need to spin that away.

And, yes, I understand teams around the Grizzlies got better.

Houston — one of the teams the Grizzlies are jockeying with for playoff position — acquired Lou Williams from the Lakers. Williams hung 40 points on the Grizzlies not long ago.

Oklahoma City — another team the Grizzlies are jockeying with for playoff position — acquired Taj Gibson and Doug McDermott from Chicago for the pride of Lausanne, Cam Payne.

So, yes, by comparison, it looks like the Grizzlies were complacent at the deadline. The Grizzlies may have a hard time holding off Oklahoma City for seventh place in the Western Conference, and may or may not be able to win a single playoff round. But given their circumstances, given their available assets, what did you want them to do?

The Grizzlies don’t have any firstround draft picks or promising young players to deal, thanks to misguided drafting and trading in years past. So the only pieces the Grizzlies could have given up are pieces they happen to like.

They could have traded Tony Allen, who will be a free agent.

But the Grizzlies like Allen and didn’t want to deal him away.

They could have traded Zach Randolph, who will also be a free agent at the end of the year.

But the Grizzlies like Z-Bo and consider him critical to the cause.

They could have traded JaMychal Green, who will be a restricted free agent at the end of the year.

But the Grizzlies need Green and, well, anyone sense a theme?

So maybe the Grizzlies could have flipped Wright for help at backup point guard or wing. But if they had, they might have regretted it in a matter of months. Remember, Randolph and Green will both be free agents this summer. If the Grizzlies can’t afford to bring both back — and they probably can’t — then Wright will fill an important role.

Given all that, the Grizzlies didn’t have a whole lot of options at the trade deadline. So they stood pat and they spun.

The Grizzlies essentially acquired Douglas and Wright? Does that mean that the Thunder acquired Enes Canter (who is returning from a fractured forearm), the Clippers acquired Chris Paul (who is returning from a torn ligament in his thumb), and the Jazz acquired Rodney Hood (who is returning from a sprained knee ligament)?

Beyond that, if a player returning from injury counts as an acquisition, the most unfortunate news is that the Grizzlies didn’t acquire a healthy Chandler Parsons.

That’s an acquisition that would change the prospects of the franchise, that would make all sorts of new things possible. If David Fizdale could count on the Parsons, who played so well for Dallas in the middle of last season, he might well be coaching the best version of the Grizzlies that has ever been.

Alas, that has not been the case. Parsons continues to struggle to find his health and his game. Fizdale still uses phrases like “baby steps” when talking about Parsons. For every baby step forward, there have been two baby steps back.

So here’s hoping the Grizzlies can still acquire a sporadically useful Parsons by the time the playoffs roll around. Even that would be a help. But in the meantime, let’s focus on the good news from Thursday. The Grizzlies happen like their roster the way it is. (And did I mention no Jeff Green?)