Dallas Paid for a Useful Two-Way Guard
Dallas acquired Delon Wright from Memphis in a July 2019 sign-and-trade, sending two future second-round picks and the draft rights to Satnam Singh to the Grizzlies. Wright was coming off his best stretch as a pro: 12.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.6 steals in 26 games for Memphis after arriving in the Marc Gasol trade. The Mavericks were not gambling on an unknown player. They were paying a modest draft price for a 27-year-old guard who could defend, handle the ball and support Luka Doncic without needing a high-usage role.
Wright Gave Dallas One Solid Season
Wright played all 73 regular-season games for Dallas in 2019-20, starting five and averaging 6.9 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.2 steals in 21.5 minutes. He also shot 37.0 percent from three. That is real rotation value on a playoff team, which is why the canonical Dallas grade stays at B rather than dropping into the C range. The limitation is durability of value: Dallas moved Wright again in November 2020 in the three-team deal that brought James Johnson to the Mavericks, so the original acquisition produced only one season before becoming part of another asset exchange.
Memphis Preserved More Future Flexibility
Memphis converted a restricted free agent into two future seconds, Singh's draft rights and a traded-player exception instead of simply letting Wright leave. The 2021 second ultimately landed at No. 51, where Brandon Boston Jr. was selected. Memphis then sent that pick to New Orleans in the larger 2021 Jonas Valanciunas trade before Boston was moved again to the Clippers. The later second resolved at No. 50 in the 2023 draft, where Keyontae Johnson was selected. Singh never became an NBA rotation piece, so the value case rests on the draft capital and transaction flexibility rather than the rights component.
The Margin Is Small, but Memphis Extracted More
Dallas received the best immediate player in the transaction and got a useful season from him. Memphis, however, turned Wright's restricted free agency into multiple future assets without taking back a meaningful long-term salary obligation. That distinction explains the narrow grade gap. Wright helped Dallas, but his stay lasted one season and the Mavericks had to make another trade to redirect his value. Memphis turned a player it was prepared to move into draft capital that remained useful in later transactions. The outcome is not lopsided, but the Grizzlies squeezed slightly more lasting flexibility from the deal.
Final Verdict
Slight Grizzlies Edge — Dallas B, Memphis B+. Dallas got 73 regular-season games and useful two-way minutes from Delon Wright before moving him again in the James Johnson three-team trade. Memphis received two future second-round picks, Satnam Singh's draft rights and a traded-player exception for a restricted free agent it was prepared to move; the 2021 second became No. 51 Brandon Boston Jr., while the later second resolved at No. 50 Keyontae Johnson. Dallas received real on-court value, but Memphis extracted more future flexibility from the same transaction, giving the Grizzlies the narrow hindsight edge.