Former Volunteers basketball player Jarnell Stokes was traded from the Memphis Grizzlies to the Miami Heat. He will join his old teammate Josh Richardson.
It looks like the Miami Heat are the NBA version of the Denver Broncos, doing whatever they can to acquire former Tennessee Vols basketball players.
The Memphis Grizzlies traded away Jarnell Stokes, Beno Udrih, and a second-round pick in order to acquire Mario Chalmers, according to a report on The Commercial Appeal.
The trade also involved James Ennis of Miami, whom the Grizzlies also picked up.
Stokes leaves his hometown after a year in Memphis to join teammate Josh Richardson, who was taken in the second round as a shooting guard by the Heat in this past year’s NBA Draft.
The meat of the deal, however, was Chalmers for Udrih, as both the Heat and the Grizzlies sought a change at the backup point guard position. Stokes and Ennis are thrown in as young prospects with potential.
A report by Dan Feldman on NBC Sports addressed the trade and how Stokes could benefit the heat. He noted that Stokes fits better in Miami.
"Stokes is much younger than power forwards now in front of him: Chris Bosh, Josh McRoberts, and Udonis Haslem. Stokes is a plus rebounder with the ability force his way into inside buckets. I’m just not sure whom he defends."
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For his career, Stokes has only played 21 games and has registered a little over two and a half points per game on average along with over one and a half rebounds in just over six minutes per game.
With his 6’9″ 263 pound frame, there is very good reason to believe he could develop into a monster power forward in the NBA, at least as a major physical presence, given the chance.
Richardson, meanwhile, has only played seven minutes on the year. So both players are a work in progress, but now they might have a chance to thrive if they can play together.