By OLIVER SALT, US ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR
Published: 13:04 EST, 9 January 2026 | Updated: 13:12 EST, 9 January 2026
The Memphis Grizzlies are reportedly open to moving on controversial guard Ja Morant before next month's NBA trade deadline.
According to ESPN's Shams Charania, Morant - who was selected with the second overall pick in the 2019 draft - could be offloaded by the Grizzlies midway through his sixth season with the team.
For the first time since drafting him seven years ago, they are said to be entertaining offers for the two-time All-Star ahead of the trade deadline on February 5.
Morant has proven a controversial figure in Memphis after frequently landing himself in hot water off the court.
He previously served a 25-game suspension for flashing a gun on two separate live streams within the space of three months, which NBA commissioner Adam Silver branded 'alarming and disconcerting' at the time.
In March 2023, the former Murray State star was first seen waving a gun during an Instagram Live captured in Shotgun Willie's, a strip club in Glendale, Colorado, following a loss to the Denver Nuggets.
The Memphis Grizzlies are reportedly open to moving on Ja Morant before the trade deadline
The move sparked severe backlash with the NBA initially handing down an eight-game suspension to Morant, who checked himself into a private counseling facility in Colorado.
But eight games seemingly weren't enough to drive the message home, as 10 weeks later he was caught in yet another gun-flashing incident.
This time, having not learnt his lesson, Morant was captured waving a firearm in a car on friend Davonte Pack's Instagram Live.
Once again he faced blowback, this time bigger than ever. It was the second incident of this nature in three months and the league took its time deliberating its punishment, before Silver landed on a 25-game suspension.