The Memphis Grizzlies collected five future second-round draft picks to move back from No. 16 overall to No. 21 in the first round of the NBA draft Tuesday night.
Memphis traded with the Oklahoma City Thunder and then the Detroit Pistons to land at No. 21 and select Mexican forward Karim Lopez.
The Grizzlies originally picked Iowa guard Bennett Stirtz at No. 16 but dealt him to the Thunder for the No. 17 overall pick and two second-rounders, per multiple media reports.
The 17th pick was spent on Stanford guard Ebuka Okorie, and although he put on a Thunder hat, he was shuttled to the Pistons as the Grizzlies jumped back another four spots to No. 21 in exchange for three second-rounders.
It was not reported which years the second-round picks would come from.
Lopez, a 6-foot-8 forward, averaged 11.9 points and 6.1 rebounds for the National Basketball League’s New Zealand Breakers last season. He was the highest-rated prospect from an international league in this year’s class.
Stirtz followed coach Ben McCollum from Division II Northwest Missouri State to Drake to Iowa and put up 19.8 points and 4.4 assists in 37 games (all starts) last season while helping the Hawkeyes reach the Elite Eight.
Okorie was a surprise standout freshman for Stanford, where he posted averages of 23.2 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 31 games (all starts).
The Grizzlies also held the No. 3 pick and took star forward Cameron Boozer from Duke earlier in the night.
–Field Level Media
