Grizz dish Lowry at buzzer

The Grizzlies shipped guard Kyle Lowry to the Houston Rockets minutes before the 2 p.m. trade deadline today as part of a three-way deal with the Orlando Magic.  As part of the deal, Houston sent guard Rafer Alston to Orlando, and the Magic sent a first-round draft pick to the Grizzlies and Brian Cook to the Rockets.

Orlando needed a replacement for the injured Jameer Nelson, so they are the winners in this deal.  The Grizzlies now have another draft pick to use (or misuse).  More importantly, they dumped Lowry's $1.1 million contract and bought themselves some more cap space.  Now we have to see who they can convince to play here.  The other side to the free agent deals is the player's desire to play for a certain team.  It's only 99 percent about the money.  The other 1 percent is the team's chances of winning.  The Grizzlies have to hope they are projecting enough of a dedication to success to make someone want to sign with them.  Otherwise, their extra cash is worthless.  Draft picks are nice, but they can't afford to get much younger.  They need to have some success on the free agent market.