MEMPHIS — One of the worst trades in NBA history played out on July 3, 2001, when the league’s board of governors approved the relocation of the team from Vancouver to Memphis. 

No offence to Memphis. It says more about Vancouver, which would be a lottery pick in the North American city draft.

And in a different set of circumstances, the Grizzlies-to-Memphis deal might never have happened. 

Not to relitigate but if the Canadian dollar wasn’t in the 60-cent range relative to the U.S. dollar; if the Grizzlies had pulled off a draft-night trade for Steve Nash in 1996; or not drafted Steve Francis; or if the NBA lockout hadn’t happened in 1998; or if the Grizzlies and Vancouver Canucks were under the same ownership group, maybe things might have been different. 

But they were what they were, and the Toronto Raptors' expansion cousins moved to Tennessee for the 2001-02 season. 

We mention this only in part because the Raptors played the Grizzlies in the 60th edition of their respective histories Friday night. 

For the record, the Raptors won 128-96 in a convincing response after their letdown against another tanking team, Sacramento, on Wednesday night in Toronto. They now lead the franchise series 31-29.

“I thought the guys took this game very seriously from the start,” said Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic. “Preparation for the game, watching film, we did everything that’s in our control, our guys did a really good job tonight from the jump.” 

The Raptors led after the first quarter but six turnovers in the game’s first 13 minutes or so allowed the Grizzlies to briefly take the lead early in the second.

Fittingly, it was RJ Barrett — who had spoken frankly about the Raptors' poor showing against Sacramento (“that’s a game we have to win") — who got the team back on track. He hit a three to stop an 8-2 mini run by Memphis and another three to help fuel what ended up being a 14-4 run that allowed Toronto to reassert control.

Barrett finished with 25 points on 9-of-17 shooting to lead Toronto. The Raptors used a 14-5 run at the end of the second quarter to take an 18-point lead into the half. They never looked back after that. They ended up with seven players in double figures and 31 assists on 44 makes from the field while holding Memphis to 40 per cent from the floor and forcing 20 turnovers. 

The Raptors needed the win as much as the Grizzlies (25-52) — who had only three players from their opening-night lineup available for the game — needed to lose it for draft-lottery purposes. 

The win kept Toronto (43-34) in a virtual tie with Philadelphia for sixth in the East (although the Raptors are in seventh because the Sixers hold the tiebreaker due to a better head-to-head record) and a game-and-a-half behind Atlanta for fifth. Both Atlanta and Philadelphia won Friday.

The Grizzlies' status in Memphis is topical again not just because this is the 25th anniversary season of their move from Vancouver, but because no less an authority than LeBron James put the organization and the entire city on blast —carelessly and needlessly, I would say — when he shared his view on the Grizzlies in Memphis while playing golf with YouTubers Bob Does Sports. 

He was asked if — in his 23rd season — NBA travel has lost its lustre, even with private jets and six-star hotels: 

“Yeah, a random Tuesday in the Milwaukee, stay at the Hyatt at 41 years old, you think I want to do that (expletive)? Being in Memphis on a random-ass Thursday?” James said, his every word and move recorded by cameras following........

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