Ja Morant
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A new trade proposal has the Toronto Raptors acquiring Ja Morant from the Memphis Grizzlies.
TheMemphis Grizzlies are officiallyopen for business when it comes toJa Morant, and the suitors for the All-Star guard are beginning to emerge.
Morant will be one of the most high-risk, high-reward players available at the trade deadline. His tantalizing skillset could allow him to make a huge impact for a contender in the second half of the season, but he’s also been hurt for most of 2025-26 withankle and calf injuries.
One team that could take a chance on Ja? TheToronto Raptors. In a new trade proposal,ESPN’s Zach Kram has the team acquiring Morant from Memphis for some highly valuable assets.
Here’s the full trade proposal:
Raptors receive: G Ja Morant
**Grizzlies receive:**G Immanuel Quickley, G Ochai Agbaji, 2026 first-round pick (top-14 protected)
Who says yes to this deal? Who says no? Let’s see it through and find out:
Why Toronto Raptors Make This Trade
For the Raptors, a team that can seriously contend in the Eastern Conference this season, Morant brings more upside at the point guard position on the offensive end thanQuickley. Acquiring a player like the former is a move you make to give your squad a jolt in the middle of the season and propel it throughout the postseason.
Toronto would hope a change of scenery and the chance to compete for a championship would reawaken the game Morant showed in 2022 and 2023, when he was an All-Star. The Raptors made a similar move at the trade deadline last year, when they acquired 2020 All-StarBrandon Ingram, and he’s been a key piece this season.
Giving up a first round pick and the opportunity to get a high-quality, low-cost player in a loaded draft is tough, but Morant’s potential for this season and beyond (he’s signed through the 2027-28 season) will be difficult to pass up. Toronto just has to hope he doesn’t crash and burn again.
Why Memphis Grizzlies Make This Trade
Given what the Morant situation has turned into Memphis —with both sides pretty much begging for a divorce — this a slam-dunk return for the former franchise player. The Grizzlies may push Toronto for a second first round pick, but acquiring one in a loaded 2026 draft is a huge win for Memphis, a team not that far away from contending itself.
The Grizzlies could move towards building aroundJaren Jackson Jr., the 2023 Defensive Player of the Year, andZach Edey, the 2023 and 2024 Wooden Award winner, to create a defense-first squad. Finding a shooter or a third elite big man through the draft is more than possible after this trade.
Not to mention, Quickley is a solid guard who would pair well withCam Spencer (the second-year player out of UConn who has been highly effective when Morant has been injured). The former could also thrive as the first man of the bench, like he did when he finishedsecond in Sixth Man of the Year voting in 2023.