Memphis Grizzlies forward Zach Randolph (50) shoots against Chicago Bulls forward Joakim Noah (13) during the first quarter of an NBA basketball game in Chicago on Sunday, Jan. 1, 2012. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
NEW YORK—Memphis forward Zach Randolph will miss six to eight weeks of the NBA season with a torn right knee ligament, prompting the Grizzlies to make a three-team deal on Wednesday for big man Marreese Speights.
An MRI exam showed Randolph, an 11-year NBA veteran, suffered a torn right medial collateral ligament in the first quarter of a 104-64 loss at Chicago last Sunday. Team doctor Fred Azar gave the prognosis for his February return.
Randolph, 29, averaged 20.1 points and a team-record 12.2 rebounds, a career high, last season for the Grizzlies. He led the team with 14.8 points and also grabbed 7.5 rebounds through the first four games of this season.
Quickly moving to add front-court talent, the Grizzlies swung a deal with Philadelphia for Speights in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2012 NBA Draft.
Memphis also traded guard Xavier Henry, who has a mild right ankle sprain, to New Orleans for a future second-round draft pick that was also sent to the 76ers in the deal.
Speights, 24, had not played in Philadelphia’s first four games of the season but he has 7.2 points and 3.7 rebounds as a reserve in three seasons with the 76ers.