Emptying the notebook after a day of draft post-mortem:
** My best understanding of the Darrell Arthur/Kosta Koufos trade was that it evolved out of the Grizzlies’ attempts to get into the late first round. The Nuggets were known to be willing to move their pick at #27 (which ended up going to Utah) and in conversations about the pick they expressed interest in Darrell Arthur, whom the Grizzlies were willing to move to clarify their power forward rotation and address other needs. But while pursuing a potential deal involving Arthur and the Nuggets’ pick, other players entered the discussion and when Koufos was made available the Grizzlies worked out that deal for the reasons I outlined last night.
** As far as other attempts to get into the first round, I reported last night on Twitter that the Grizzlies attempted to obtain the Timberwolves pick at #26 (which ended up going to Oklahoma City). There was some speculation that the Grizzlies pulled back from their pursuit because the player they were targeting (perhaps Reggie Bullock, who went #25 to the Clippers) was off the board. Not so. The Grizzlies got outbid on these deals, with competing teams offering both cash and a second-round draft pick. The Grizzlies apparently had a couple of players they were targeting in the late first round: swingmen Jamaal Franklin and Allen Crabbe, who eventually went at #31, the first pick in the second round. My impression is that the Grizzlies had Franklin rated higher but may have taken Crabbe if given the opportunity because he fit their needs better as a shooter.
** After Crabbe was off the board, the Grizzlies were hoping Franklin would continue to drop to them at #41 and were prepared to move out of #41 if Franklin was gone and they weren’t enamored enough with other options.
