Three-team trade that sends Jeff Green to the Grizzlies becomes official

The trade to send Jeff Green from the Celtics to the Grizzlies took a few days to come together.

But now, with three teams, five players and two draft picks involved, it has become official.

From a Memphis Grizzlies official release:

The Memphis Grizzlies completed a three-team trade with the Boston Celtics and New Orleans Pelicans in which they acquired forward Jeff Green from Boston and guard Russ Smith from New Orleans. In exchange, Memphis traded forward Tayshaun Prince and a protected future first round draft pick to Boston and traded guard/forward Quincy Pondexter and a 2015 second round draft pick to New Orleans, Grizzlies General Manager Chris Wallace announced today. As part of the trade, New Orleans also has traded guard Austin Rivers to Boston. In addition, Memphis will receive a traded player exception.

While this appears to be a nice move on paper that should provide Memphis with an upgrade over Prince on the wing, it’s also one that sends Boston further into a Sixers-like situation.

The one loose end that needs tying up is the ultimate fate of Austin Rivers. The Celtics were reportedly in talks with the Clippers about a trade, mainly because Boston is loaded at guard, but also because it would rather have a future pick in exchange for Rivers, who will be an unrestricted free agent at the conclusion of this season.

Even if the trade with the Clippers doesn’t work out (where Austin’s father Doc Rivers is the head coach), the Celtics aren’t interested in keeping Austin on the roster, and are expected to pursue other deals instead.

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[Photo via the Grizzlies on Twitter]