Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace has stockpiled useful players with the salary cap space and draft picks acquired in the Pau Gasol trade.

"Pau's been like an NBA version of an organ donor with how he's provided life to this current team," Wallace said. "Instead of harvesting his heart, his kidneys or his corneas, we got picks, we got his brother -- a starting center -- and we got cap room that we could use in free agency or in doing trades. We got over half our roster in the deal."

Wallace traces the additions of Sam Young, Darrell Arthur, Greivis Vazquez, Ronnie Brewer, Hamed Haddadi, DeMarre Carroll, Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph as results of the flexibility created by the trade. Gasol, Randolph and Young (who is filling in for an injured Rudy Gay) are current starters, and Arthur, one of the league's most-improved players, is a key reserve.

The Grizzlies are on the verge of making the playoffs for the first time since 2006.