Darrell Arthur out for the year; Grizzlies interested in Marreese Speights?

The Sixers have long been rumored to be open trading backup power forward Marreese Speights, who is on the last year of his rookie contract and set to become a restricted free agent after the end of the season. The Grizzlies have often been rumored to be one of the potential suitors, and with confirmation that backup forward Darrell Arthur will miss the entire season due to a torn Achilles tendon, that possibility just became more plausible.

The Commercial Appeal, the predominant newspaper in Memphis, has published a rumor that made Michael absolutely giddy. According to the report, claiming sources with knowledge of the Grizzlies thinking, the Grizzlies are interested in Speights, and he speculated a deal could include Xavier Henry and Greivis Vasquez for Speights.

If you remember, Henry, the 12th pick in the 2010 NBA draft out of Kansas, had some big fans here at LibertyBallers. We had him 8th on our big board the day before the draft, although I'll give myself a pat on the back for having him correctly going 12th.

The sweet shooting lefty struggled in his rookie season at the age of 19, making only 2 of 17 three pointers over 38 games before missing the rest of the season due to a knee injury. He will miss at least the first month of the season due to a second degree right ankle sprain.

Still, the ability Henry showed as a spot-up catch and shoot player at Kansas along with a compelling physical profile makes him, even with the injury concerns and disappointing rookie season, a good haul for the Marreese Speights, a talented but underachieving forward who doesn't appear to have a future with the club.