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The Memphis Grizzlies and Charlotte Hornets agreed to a trade Thursday that sends Matt Barnes to Memphis and briefly had Luke Ridnour in the Queen City.
Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski, who first broke the trade, adds that the Grizzlies intend to keep Barnes, who last week was included in the Clippers-Hornets deal that sent Lance Stephenson to Los Angeles.
As for Ridnour, who had just been traded to Memphis from Orlando on Wednesday, the Hornets subsequently flipped the 34-year-old to Oklahoma City in a deal that shipped Jeremy Lamb to Charlotte. In all, the veteran guard was traded three times in a roughly 25-hour span.
Barnes, whose non-guaranteed 2015-16 contract had been rumored to be headed to Oklahoma City in earlier reports, gives the Grizzlies a potential 3-and-D presence at small forward. Barnes isn't the overall defender Tony 'First Team All-Defense' Allen is, but he is a more legitimate threat from beyond the arc – 33.8 percent career 3-point shooter, 36.2 percent last season.
If the Grizzlies do retain Barnes, however, there appears to be a logjam at the three, with Allen, Jeff Green, and Vince Carter all under contract next season, with a combined salary among the trio over $18.7 millon. Barnes would take that number over $21 million, although perhaps some of that small forward salary could be included in a potential trade package for Danilo Gallinari.
