For Memphis:
Green didn’t live up to the team’s high expectations after arriving just over a year ago. Now, they’ll likely surrender a better first to Boston than the one they just got from the Clippers. That’s not ideal, but Green wasn’t really helping the cause, so bringing back a first, even a lesser one, helps make up for the Green gamble not working out.
Who knows, a motivated Stephenson might provide as much as Green was.
Grade: C (when you factor in original Green deal it’s a D).
For Los Angeles:
Doc the GM is nowhere close to as talented as Doc the coach. We’ve seen it time and again. On the one hand, give the team credit for going for it. Even though nobody thinks the Clippers can beat the top three in the West, trading another first (Toronto owns the 2017 first) is sacrificing more of the future in an effort to unlock some sort of magic formula. Green will provide some help, but he hasn’t been the player he looked like he could be coming out of Georgetown as a high pick. It’s a little surprising that the Clippers could not find a better player for a first rounder and Stephenson’s expiring contract (his deal has a team option that won’t be picked up unless the Indiana version of Born Ready returns).