The Los Angeles Clippers beat the trade deadline buzzer by dealing Lance Stephenson and a future first round pick to the Memphis Grizzlies for Jeff Green. But should they have?

Green is a nice player, but always underwhelms. He was productive for the Oklahoma City Thunder, but they were willing to deal him before his restricted free agency in 2011 when it was clear he was the weak link with Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden and Serge Ibaka. Boston thought he was a major bench upgrade, and he was always just a guy. Then he started when the Celtics began their rebuild, and he wasn’t very good. Memphis acquired him as their answer to the long running problem at small forward and he ended up shuttling back and forth between starting and the bench for a year plus.

With the Clippers, Green will be expected to fill a role similar to the one he had in Boston when the Celtics originally acquired him. Swing between PF and SF and occasionally play some SG. He may even start until Blake Griffin is healthy and back. The biggest challenge is that while Green can do a lot of things, he never does a lot with the things he can do. He’s not a great shooter. He’s an overrated defender. He doesn’t rebound all that well.

If the Clippers are counting on Green to be more than a forward off the bench for them, they’ll likely be disappointed. If they are comfortable with 10 points and four rebounds or so per game off the bench, then that is fine.

Stephenson obviously had little value for the Clippers. He wasn’t playing any sort of consistent role. It seems that the Indiana Pacers version of Lance Stephenson is gone for good at this point.

The big loss is yet another First Round pick. The pick is reportedly lottery protected, but giving away another pick is hard to swallow. The Clippers have already given up a pick (now owed to Toronto as soon as 2017) just to dump salary. And they give away Second Round picks like they don’t matter as well. Doc Rivers isn’t a fan of playing rookies minutes, but at some point you should acquire some young talent.

Grade for the Clippers: D+

The Grizzlies are obviously tearing it down to some extent following the Marc Gasol injury. After sending out their starting SG in Courtney Lee, Memphis is moving on from Jeff Green. The Green deal is just a year after sending a First Round pick to Boston to acquire him.

All in all, it isn’t a big loss for Memphis. As covered above in what LA is getting, Green is consistently inconsistent. He wasn’t doing a whole lot for a Grizzlies group that really needed some scoring punch.

Lance Stephenson holds little value for Memphis beyond being an expiring contract. The big get for the Griz was the future First Round Pick. The earliest that Memphis can see that pick is in 2019, assuming the Clippers settle with Toronto in 2017. Basically, Memphis recouped the First they sent to Boston for Green in the first place.

The unintentional comedy of Memphis having a group that includes Chris Andersen, Zach Randolph, Tony Allen, Matt Barnes, P.J. Hairston and Lance Stephenson should have all-time potential. That group certainly embodies “Grit and Grind” to the fullest. At least the rest of the season holds that interest.

The big winner of this deal could actually be the Denver Nuggets. The Grizzlies owe the Nuggets their pick if it falls between 6 and 14. Memphis currently sits five games ahead of ninth place Houston in the playoff picture. You can easily envision a scenario where the Grizzlies don't make the playoffs and that pick is sent to Denver.

Grade for the Grizzlies: B