NBA teams often are buyers or sellers at the trade deadline, but the Memphis Grizzlies might be neither.

Buyers are typically searching for the final piece for championship contention, while sellers unload players who no longer fit the future of the team. Memphis is one of the few NBA teams that could look to add or subtract players by the Feb. 8 deadline.

Injuries to the Grizzlies' core is a major reason why Memphis is in this unique position. In reality, Memphis has won 50-plus games in each of the past two seasons. In the small sample size where the Grizzlies were close to fully healthy this season, they looked similar to the team of the past two years.

Star point guard Ja Morant and big man Steven Adams won’t return this season because of injury, plus Desmond Bane and Marcus Smart could be sidelined through the All-Star break. Those injuries put the Grizzlies in an intriguing position, where they could choose to reshuffle pieces around while looking ahead to next season.

Under current Grizzlies general manager and president of basketball operations Zach Kleiman, Memphis hasn’t been the most aggressive deadline team. Most of the Grizzlies’ major work is done in the offseason, but how they approach the trade deadline could reveal their long-term goals of building a championship roster.

Grizzlies roster outlook

The deadline will be interesting for Memphis in large part because of the roster logjam. Among the 15 players under standard contracts, 14 are signed through the 2024-25. Xavier Tillman Sr. is the only player slated to hit free agency after this season. Considering the Grizzlies have a first round pick in the 2024 NBA Draft and will need to address the GG Jackson contract if he continues to show promise, one projected open roster spot won’t get the job done.

These issues don’t have to be addressed until the offseason, but the deadline could allow Memphis to get ahead of the situation. The Grizzlies could trade away players who don’t fit the future and acquire expiring contracts to create roster flexibility for next season.

Grizzlies players to move at NBA trade deadline

Memphis traded former backup point guard Tyus Jones last summer as he entered the final year of his contract. Steven Adams, Santi Aldama, Luke Kennard and Ziare Williams will all be on expiring contracts for the 2024-25 season. If Memphis wants to make a splash, those are the names to watch.

Williams has struggled to find a consistent role in Memphis, and that’s unlikely to change when the team gets its stars back. Since Williams is a former top-10 pick, a team could be interested in taking a flier on the wing while he still has more than a season left until free agency.

Jake LaRavia is another option that teams could take a chance on as a former first-round pick. The emergence of Vince Williams Jr. has made wings like LaRavia and Ziaire Williams more expendable.

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Grizzlies trade acquisition candidates

It would be surprising if the Grizzlies swing big and add an impact player who could play with the core next season, but it shouldn’t be ruled out. Morant and Jackson are already on expensive deals, and Bane will begin his max extension next season. Center is the current position with the most long-term question marks. Charlotte Hornets center Nick Richards and Atlanta Hawks big man Clint Capela are players who have been rumored to be available.

Richards is a fourth-year center who is having the best season of his career as a quality rebounder and rim protector. He will only be making five million per year over the next two seasons, which is great value given his production.

Capela only has one more year left on his deal like Adams, but he’s averaged a double-double in each of the last seven seasons while being durable and one of the league’s best shot-blockers. He is making $20.6 million this season, so Memphis would need to move a piece like Adams to make a deal work.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: How the Memphis Grizzlies could approach the NBA's trade deadline