The Ja Morant sweepstakes are alive and well in the NBA, as teams look to pry the talented point guard away from the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Grizzlies are reportedly eager to trade Morant, finally ready to move on after years of refusing to move the star guard. Between injuries and off-court issues, the 26-year-old has struggled to stay on the court in recent seasons.
The Murray State product has only played 18 games so far this season, averaging 19 points, 3.2 rebounds and 7.6 assists per game, while shooting 40.1 percent from the field and 20.8 percent from three-point range. Morant is averaging a career-low 28.3 minutes per game.
Memphis, who is currently 17-22 and sitting 10th in the Western Conference, plans to build around young players like Cedrid Coward, Zach Edey, Jaylen Wells and Cam Spencer.
According to Fox Sports' Rachel Nichols, Morant's preferred landing spot is with the Miami Heat. Yahoo Sports' Kevin O'Connor has identified the Heat, Minnesota Timberwolves and Sacramento Kings as potential trade fits, but admitted that the trade market is unlikely to be kind to the Grizzlies' front office.
But Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green has thrown in a dark-horse candidate that he thinks should show some interest in acquiring Morant.
Green Names 'Dark-Horse' Landing Spot for Morant
Ja Morant Memphis Grizzlies
On a recent episode of The Draymond Green Show, the power forward named the New York Knicks as a team he'd like to see trade for Morant before the trade deadline.
“A dark horse I’d throw out is the New York Knicks. I haven’t seen any reports linking them, but imagine Ja Morant at Madison Square Garden. That’s box office. Needless to say, if Ja Morant is traded, whatever team lands him instantly gets better. Make no mistake—when you have that level of talent, your team improves overnight.”
It's easy to see the allure of such a move. Morant is undoubtedly one of the most entertaining players in the NBA when he's at his best, with elite athleticism and jaw-dropping shot-making ability. There is no better place for that than in the most famous arena in the world, in the most famous city in the world.
But does it make sense for the Knicks? Definitely not.
New York already has a franchise point guard in Jalen Brunson, who is one of the best scoring guards in the league, and a better player than Morant at this juncture. The Knicks are also cap-strapped, which means they would have to move significant salary to bring Morant in.
It would be practically impossible to run an efficient offense that includes both Brunson and Morant.
Morant still has plenty of good basketball left in him, and will surely make his new team better. But there's little to no chance that team is the New York Knicks.
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Morant is averaging a career-low 30.6 minutes per game through 10 games this season, and is putting up just 19.2 points per game.