According to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports the Memphis Grizzlies have traded Marreese Speights, Josh Selby, Wayne Ellington and a 2015 first-round draft pick to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Jon Leuer and a $6.4 million trade exception.

This trade gets the Grizzlies, who were rumored to be shopping core players like Zach Randolph and Rudy Gay in order to get out of the luxury tax, under the $70 million threshold by about $2 million.

Leuer is in his second year in the league. He spent his rookie season with the Milwaukee Bucks before being traded to the Houston Rockets this offseason. The Rockets cut him, but he was picked up by the Cavaliers. With them he averaged 2.4 points and 1.4 rebounds while being sent down to their D-League affiliate, the Canton Charge, for eight games. During those eight games he averaged 19.5 points and 12.3 rebounds.

Speights and Ellington were a part of the Grizzlies regular rotation with Speights contributing six points and four rebounds a game and Ellington adding five points a game, respectively. Speights had an implicit no-trade clause, but was consulted and agreed to the trade. Selby had played in just 10 games this year; he was unable to earn a spot on the second group despite an impressive showing this offseason at the Las Vegas Summer League, where he was co-MVP with potential rookie of the year Damian Lillard. Ellington and Selby will both have a chance to play more in Cleveland than they did in Memphis, as will Speights especially with Cavaliers starting center Anderson Varejao out for the year.

The Cavaliers waived Jeremy Pargo to make room for Speights, Selby and Ellington.

The Grizzlies’ 2015 first-round pick is top-5 protected and 15-30 protected through 2016. In 2017-18 it is just top-5 protected; it becomes unprotected afterwards. Their 2013 first-round pick was traded in 2011 as a part of the deal with the Houston Rockets for Shane Battier. It now belongs to the Minnesota Timberwolves, although it could end up with the Phoenix Suns.

Once the trade is official the Grizzlies could have as many as four open roster spots. They were in Reno, Nevada last week at the D-League showcase scouting players for potential 10-day contracts.

Stay tuned to HOOPSWORLD for more on this developing situation.