After the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Grizzlies last Friday night, Memphis head coach Tuomas Iisalo "challenged" Ja Morant's leadership and effort. Sources told Shams Charania that Morant's tone was "deemed inappropriate and dismissive," which led to Memphis suspending him for one game.
Over the past few days, the Ja Morant trade speculation has emerged in full force. He said on Monday that he isn't playing with the joy that fans are used to seeing from him. Morant hasn't requested a trade, but at this point, it seems that could happen.
The Grizzlies have lost four straight games, a losing streak that started with the 117-112 loss to the Lakers. Morant finished with eight points in that game on 3-of-14 shooting from the field and 0-of-6 shooting from three to go with seven assists, one rebound, one steal, and one turnover in 31 minutes.
So far this season, Morant is averaging 20 points (his lowest since he averaged 19.1 points per game during the 2021-22 season), 7.3 assists, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.0 steals per game, shooting a putrid 38.3% from the field and an even more putrid 14% from three. He's averaging 30 minutes per game, which is a career low for him.
If Morant's frustrations with his role under Iisalo continue and the Grizzlies drop down the standings, the 26-year-old could be the top name on the trade market ahead of the February deadline.
Ja Morant drama started with suspension after Lakers loss
In Memphis' most recent 124-109 loss to Houston on Wednesday, Morant posted 17 points (6-of-19 shooting from the field), eight assists, five rebounds, one block, one steal, and six turnovers in 34 minutes. He played 35 minutes in the loss to Detroit two nights before, the highest number of minutes he's played in a single game so far this season.
Between the Grizzlies' injuries, adjusting to their new head coach, questions swirling about Morant's future, and now, the losing streak, Memphis is far from being in a desirable position. In case you needed the reminder, the season just started. There are still many games left to play this season, which can either work out in the Grizzlies' favor or have the opposite effect.
As ESPN's Michael C. Wright wrote in a piece published on Thursday about the ongoing Morant-Memphis saga, "it's clear that relations between Morant and the Grizzlies remain icy."
Teams are already circling, waiting to see how the next few weeks play out for Morant and Memphis. Minnesota and Phoenix both need a point guard. Houston is without Fred VanVleet, but Sam Amick of The Athletic reported on Wednesday that it's "unlikely" that the Rockets will be interested in Morant if he becomes available.
The trouble was brewing before Memphis' loss to LA (Morant didn't sign an extension with the Grizzlies over the offseason), but it was then that the issues began to escalate. If a trade ultimately occurs, whether before the deadline or next offseason, we could look back to that Oct. 31 game as the beginning of the end for Morant's time with the Grizzlies.