Jan 19, 2013; Chicago, IL, USA; Memphis Grizzlies small forward Rudy Gay (22) is defended by Chicago Bulls small forward Jimmy Butler (21) during the second half at the United Center. The Grizzlies won 85-82 in OT. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports

The Memphis Grizzlies, a team that the Cleveland Cavaliers just got done dealing with, have made another move. This time around, however, the assets involved in the trade were more prominent of names than Marreese Speights, Wayne Ellington, Josh Selby and Jon Leuer. Rumors that were said to have gone to their resting place became resurrected on Wednesday when the Grizzlies conducted a three-team trade with the Toronto Raptors and the Detroit Pistons. Rudy Gay, a very talented player that Memphis had been looking to move due to his $37 million contract over the next two seasons, has finally been moved despite trade talks simmering down according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.

The trade requires three big-name players in Gay, Jose Calderon and Tayshaun Prince, but there is much more to the deal. Below you can see which players/assets each team received:

Grizzlies:

-Received Tayshaun Prince, Austin Daye, Ed Davis and a second-round pick from the Raptors

-Sent: Rudy Gay and Hamed Haddadi

Raptors:

-Received Rudy Gay and Hamed Haddadi

-Sent Jose Calderon, Ed Davis and a second-round pick

Pistons:

-Received Jose Calderon

-Sent Tayshaun Prince and Austin Daye

This trade affects the Wine and Gold in such a way that the Pistons are Central Division rivals with the Cavs. Calderon will be a free agent in the summer, so whether or not the Pistons pick him up after the season is over is unknown. Calderon is a point guard who is known for giving Kyrie Irving troubles, and is currently averaging 11.1 points and 7.4 assists with a PER of 19.4. Prince has two years left on his contract and is owed $14.9 million over the next two seasons, while Daye will become a restricted free agent in 2013. The Pistons lose their starting small forward and a backup in Daye, but now have an interesting point guard tandem of Brandon Knight and Calderon.

The Cavaliers will be matching up with the Pistons two more times this season, and the first of those two meetings will happen on Friday. It is still unknown if Calderon will be available for the game, as the trade has only been agreed to in principle.

It will be a very different situation for Prince, as he has spent all 11 of his seasons with the Pistons. That includes seven playoff appearances and one championship in 2004. Prince is currently averaging 11.7 points and 4.6 rebounds, while shooting 43.4 percent from three. Detroit saves a lot in this deal, as it moves them $25 million under the salary cap beginning this July.

As for the Grizzlies, they were a team with the highest championship implications in the franchise’s 17-season history. Gay was without a doubt a pivotal part to the team’s success so far this season, but the team needed to look forward to the bad contract they would have to assume if they kept him past this season. However, I do think this move puts this team at more of a disadvantage to win in the playoffs this season. Davis is a better frontcourt member than Speights and Haddadi combined, so that move is a major win for the Grizzlies.

Dec 16, 2011; Portland, OR, USA; Portland Trailblazers center Greg Oden (52) poses for a photo during media day at the Rose Garden. Mandatory Credit: Craig Mitchelldyer-USA TODAY Sports

The Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat seem to be the only two teams in the race for former Ohio State center Greg Oden. According to The Plain Dealer, Oden’s agent, Mike Conley Sr., says that the former Ohio State star would love to stay instate and play for the Cavaliers. This could be a best-case scenario for both parties, as Oden is trying to rebuild his resume after a first failed attempt at playing in the NBA – and Cleveland is a good team to find minutes to achieve that goal.

Jeff Goodman of CBS Sports reported on Tuesday that the leaders in the Oden sweepstakes – if that’s what you want to deem it – are the Cavaliers and Heat. His last, and also third, microfracture knee surgery was in February 2012, and he hasn’t played in the NBA since December of 2009. According to the Associated Press, the Cavaliers are considering signing Oden, but it all depends on the health of the troubled center.

Grantland writer Mark Titus had a good one-on-one interview experience with Oden, who averaged 15.7 point, 9.6 rebounds and 3.3 blocks, while shooting 61.6 percent from the field in one season as a Buckeye. There has always been controversy surrounding the seven footer, such as leaked naked pictures, three microfracture surgeries – totaling 338 missed games – an injured wrist, problems with alcohol and an untrustworthy medical staff.

Oden was picked No. 1 overall in the 2007 draft over Kevin Durant, but has not at all panned out in the NBA. In two seasons and 82 games with the Portland Trial Blazers, Oden averaged 9.4 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.4 blocks. The pressure of always being compared to Durant and the eagerness people displayed when rushing him back from a surgery make these numbers look insignificant. After not being able to recover fully from rehab due to coming back too soon from surgery, Oden’s NBA career stalled on March 15, 2012 after the Trail Blazers released him. He decided to move back to Columbus for rehab on his knee and to work at a degree at Ohio State, but not attempt an NBA comeback until the end of the 2012-13 season. It seems that he is early on his projection, as he should be signing with a team any day now.

Going to the Cavaliers would make sense if Oden wants to have the best chance to revitalize his career, but if he wants to compete for a championship and possibly get lost in the star-studded Heat roster, than there’s always the latter option as well. Even though the addition of Marreese Speights added much needed depth to Cleveland’s frountcourt, having another big man like Oden on the bench could give starters Tristan Thompson and Tyler Zeller more rest and would keep Walton from filling in for the big man role from time to time. Cleveland did move power forward Kevin Jones to Canton again. That is a tactic that they used when dealing with the Memphis Grizzlies to free up room on the roster. Jones being sent down could mean that the Cavs are about to deal once again or sign a free agent such as Oden. We will keep you updated as much as possible as more information is made available to us at Right Down Euclid.

Dec 18, 2012; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers center Anderson Varejao (17) reacts after falling after a foul by Toronto Raptors power forward Amir Johnson (not pictured) in the second quarter at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

In midst of putting together a story about Cleveland Cavalier fans needing patience when dealing with the current and persisting struggles that are encompassing and limiting the team, news broke that center Anderson Varejao would need surgery on a right knee contusion that was diagnosed after an injury on December 18^th. In the mid-December game against the Toronto Raptors, Wild Thing finished the game despite going down earlier on in the contest. According to the Cleveland Cavaliers official website, an MRI later revealed that the injured area “included a small longitudinal split in the vastus medialis.”

For those not familiar with that area of the quadriceps (which includes the four main muscles on the front of the thigh), it is located in the middle of the front of the thigh and has the moniker of the “teardrop” muscle. Although Varejao was seeing signs of improvement in recovering from the injury, another MRI revealed that the split in the vastus medialis was only worsening. Reports from the Cavs included that an ultrasound further discovered more damage in the area of the split, showing that “tissue from underneath…was herniating and pinching with knee flexion.”

Dr. Richard Parker, the Cavaliers Head Team Physician, said that Varejao would require surgery due to problems with healing. After receiving a second opinion, the team decided that it would be best to go ahead with the procedure on his knee, which is slated for Thursday, January 10. Varejao, who will miss his eleventh game on Wednesday against the Atlanta Hawks, is expected to miss six-eight weeks after being worked on.

That ends any Andy trade rumors that may have still been floating around. No team would be interested in taking on a player who hasn’t participated in any physical play on the court in three weeks, so his trade stock is non-existent at this point. Ironically enough, six weeks from the surgery would make it the day of the trade deadline (February 21). But with the way things have been going recently, I’m expecting Wild Thing to miss more time than less. Cleveland is in no rush to have their star back in the lineup, as they currently hold a record of 8-28.

Jan 5, 2013; Cleveland, OH, USA; Injured player Cleveland Cavaliers center Anderson Varejao stands during a timeout against the Houston Rockets at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

Want to hear another ironic statistic? Varejao, after going down with a wrist injury last season early on in the Wine and Gold’s 2011-12 campaign, ended up playing in only 25 of 66 games that season. Same old story this year with Andy, as he has only participated in 25 contests and eight weeks from January 10 would be him at a March 8 return (at the earliest in my opinion) against the Memphis Grizzlies. 21 games, including the aforementioned match with the Grizzlies at home, would remain from that point on. By then Cleveland will be buried in lottery talks (as they already are) and more interested in receiving a higher pick than returning their most energetic player.

So far this season Andy has averaged 14.1 points, 14.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.5 steals, while shooting 47.8 percent from the field and 75.5 percent from the free throw line. Despite the struggles that Tyler Zeller has had adjusting to squaring up against the NBA’s elite bigs in place of Varejao, sophomore power forward Tristan Thompson has really stepped up despite the lack of energy that is missing on the floor without the 30-year-old veteran.

When the news leaked, disappointment ensued via Twitter:

 Byron Scott on Varejao: “He’s our heart and soul. … Just disappointed for him and for our team.”

After head coach Byron Scott hinted on Tuesday after practice that he was “still optimistic that he’ll be able to play this year,” I knew that news was going to get worse before it got better regarding Varejao. This all together pretty much puts any Cavalier trade rumors to rest, as there are no legitimate trading pieces on the roster that other teams would be interested in swapping with the Wine and Gold.

In other injury-related news, Daniel Gibson (concussion) and C.J. Miles (back spasms) will be game-time decisions for Wednesday night’s game against the Hawks at Quicken Loans Arena.