Grizzlies trade Santi Aldama to Southeast Division rival

The Memphis Grizzlies traded forward Santi Aldama and the draft rights to Tarik Biberovic to the Dallas Mavericks for AJ Johnson, a protected 2030 first round pick (via Golden State), and two second round picks, per ESPN’s Shams Charania.

Aldama, 25, was drafted 30th overall by the Grizzlies in the 2021 NBA Draft. The 7-0 Spaniard averaged a career-best 14 points and 6.7 rebounds per game in 2025-26 on 48/35/67 shooting splits. He has been a key member of the Grizzlies’ frontcourt rotation since his second season in 2022-23.

Aldama was also the last member of the “GrizzNxtGen” era, leaving no core members of the 2021-22 and 2022-23 teams that were the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference. Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr., Desmond Bane and Dillon Brooks have all been moved over the past few seasons.

Memphis signed Aldama to a three-year, $52 million contract following the 2024-25 season. He is entering the second year of that deal. Biberovic was drafted by the Grizzlies 56th overall in the 2023 draft. He currently plays for Fenerbahce in the Turkish Basketball Super League.

Johnson was drafted 23rd overall by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2023 draft before being traded to the Washington Wizards in February 2024. He was traded again to the Mavericks in February 2025, as part of the Anthony Davis deal. The 6-5 guard has averaged just 4.9 points per game in his career, though he is still only 21 and was seen as a project coming into the league.

The 2030 first rounder coming from Golden State is protected from picks 1-20, and if not conveyed turns into a second round pick.

Memphis will also preserve the full $29 million trade exception created in the Jaren Jackson Jr. trade with the Utah Jazz in February 2026. Had the Aldama trade not happened, that exception would have been reduced by earlier offseason transactions.

We speculated very early in the offseason that Aldama could be moved. With the Grizzlies entering a rebuild, his affordable contract and experience as a heavy contributor made him a logical target for other teams.

Memphis still has 19 standard-contract players, four over the maximum of 15. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is expected to be traded or bought out soon. Taj Gibson could easily not be on the roster come training camp, and Memphis may not keep both Johnson and Kris Murray. More moves are expected over the next few weeks.

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