The Grizzlies were busy at this year’s trade deadline, dealing away two rotation players and one of the more mysterious assets on the market to add a potential core piece who can play multiple roles. Later in the day, Memphis also connected with the Rockets to make a more minor trade, swapping Bruno Caboclo for Jordan Bell, who had just been acquired from the Wolves.

The need for Caboclo, who did look like a legitimate contributor at times last season, was diminished with the Grizzlies acquiring Justise Winslow. The Grizzlies are already stocked with forward depth to the point where Caboclo had only played in 22 games this season, and even with Jae Crowder and Solomon Hill out of the picture, Memphis can still deploy Kyle Anderson, Josh Jackson and Brandon Clarke at Caboclo’s main positions. The fact that he’s sidelined by an injury didn’t help matters.

Adding Bell, who has failed to gain any traction in the league since promising stints as a rookie, doesn’t figure to move the needle for the Grizzlies. His lack of shooting limits him largely to minutes at center, where Memphis already has Jonas Valanciunas, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Gorgui Dieng to hold down the fort. It’s possible that the Grizzlies give Bell a look since the 25-year-old would fit with the team’s timeline if he managed to stick around, but it’s hard to argue that Bell gives the team, who is in the midst of the playoff hunt, a better chance at winning now.

Memphis may have been motivated to make this deal by the 2023 second-round pick swap. It’s top-32 protected in case the Rockets totally bottom out, but who knows what the league will look like by then? Perhaps that becomes a nice value add for a Grizzlies team that’s a perennial contender by then.

It’s a potential marginal win for two teams that swapped players who weren’t in their short-term, or seemingly long-term, plans.