With the Memphis Grizzlies starting their season rather inconsistently, NBA trade rumors about the team's resident big man Zach Randolph had been swirling at the moment.
Memphis finished with a 55-27 record last season, enough for fifth place in the West. And with all of the conference's teams bulking up this year, the Grizzlies would be lucky to finish with the same quarterfinals exit last May.
The team suffered its second blowout loss in just its fourth game, a 50-point 119-69 massacre in the hands of the Golden State Warriors on Monday, indicating that they are not at par with the best in the West this year.
This supposed "weakening" of the Grizz prompted Grantland writer Zach Lowe to predict that the Grizzlies will trade their 34-year-old All-Star power forward before next year's February trade deadline as he is "the oldest of their three stars" that also include Marc Gasol and Mike Conley Jr.
There were also reports that Conley is being eyed by his former coach, Lionel Hollins of the Brooklyn Nets, for next summer's free agency bidding. Thus, Memphis would want to take a pre-emptive strike by making a blockbuster deal this season and go for a slight rebuild in order to keep Conley to their side.
Another concern for head coach David Joerger would be the maturing ages of his Big Three. Conley is now 28-year-old while Gasol is turning 31 on January, which could be a concern looking at the big picture for the franchise.
SB Nation noted that it is "best" to manage "your stars' minutes in today's NBA if you have the depth to do so" to consistently contend for championships, much like what the San Antonio Spurs had been doing year in and year out, but the Grizzlies need more depth in order to accomplish something like that.
While it is highly unlikely that Randolph will be traded in midseason, it makes sense for Memphis to possibly consider that path if they want to go all the way to the West Finals this time around.