January 22, 2013

The Memphis Grizzlies have agreed to trade Marreese Speights, Wayne Ellington, former KU star Josh Selby and a future first-round draft pick to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Jon Leuer.

The trade Tuesday is the first big move by the Grizzlies' new ownership and gets Memphis under the luxury tax threshold this season. The Grizzlies rank fourth in the West and are 6-4 over their past 10 games after the NBA's best start this season.

The deal gives the lottery-bound Cavs another first-round pick to improve a team entering Tuesday night's home game against Boston with a 10-32 record -- second-worst in the Eastern Conference. Speights also will help replace center Anderson Varejao who will miss the remainder of the season after developing a blood clot in his right lung.