Los Angeles Lakers and Memphis Grizzlies produced broadly comparable realized value in the 2009-02-19 exchange: 2013 second-round pick (protected top 55 in 2013, else extinguished) (not exercised) for Chris Mihm.
Los Angeles moved Chris Mihm to Memphis at the 2009 trade deadline for a heavily protected 2013 second-round pick. Contemporary reporting made the financial purpose explicit: moving Mihm reduced the Lakers’ luxury-tax bill by roughly $2.5 million while opening another roster spot on a championship contender.
The 2013 second was protected through pick No. 55 and would disappear if the condition was not met. It ultimately did not convey. Los Angeles therefore received no draft player or downstream basketball asset from the trade, but that was secondary to the immediate payroll objective.
The Grizzlies received Mihm and cash considerations, giving the rebuilding club a financial return for absorbing the contract. Mihm never appeared in a game for Memphis after the trade as his long-running ankle problems continued. His earlier Lakers production cannot be credited to the Grizzlies side of this transaction.
Los Angeles lowered its tax exposure without surrendering a useful future pick, while Memphis collected cash without ultimately losing the conditional second. Neither side created meaningful on-court value. The completed outcome is best viewed as a financially motivated even trade rather than a basketball win for either franchise.
The conditional second-round choice Memphis owed Los Angeles was protected through the top 55 in 2013, with the obligation ending if the condition wasn't satisfied. It ultimately was not exercised, so there is no Lakers draft choice or player to trace from that part of the trade. Memphis acquired Chris Mihm, but the veteran center's later Grizzlies appearances did not deliver a meaningful long-term rotation return. That leaves both organizations with limited actual value from the transaction. A reader could be misled by seeing '2013 second-round pick' in the asset ledger and assuming Los Angeles eventually drafted someone; the unexercised protection is central to the hindsight result. Equal B- grades are modest evaluations of a low-stakes roster maneuver, not proof that both sides produced comparable future stars.
Even Trade — Los Angeles B-, Memphis B-. The Lakers saved luxury-tax money and gave up Mihm at a point when he was outside the main rotation. Memphis received cash, but Mihm never played for the Grizzlies. Because the protected 2013 second never conveyed, neither team produced a lasting basketball asset. Both sides got the limited financial result they were seeking.