"The Grizzlies are working hard, concentrating on the task at hand in an effort to make the team better.

That's management talking.

Whether the team's decision makers actually pull off a trade likely won't be known until Thursday afternoon at the NBA's deadline.

But the Griz couldn't make the deal it badly wanted to make Tuesday night, and they will try to have it in place tonight before departing Toronto.

Right now, simply swapping their recent losses for a win would suffice.

That's the players talking after the Griz dropped their fifth straight game - a 109-95 defeat to the Phoenix Suns in FedExForum.

Memphis has lost seven of its past eight games, and its latest setback had coach Lionel Hollins talking about a need to regain and sustain the fire and energy that made his team successful before a funk that began two weeks ago."