It has all gone downhill for Ja Morant on the Memphis Grizzlies since 2023, and he now finds himself in the center of trade talks aplenty as the Grizzlies scour the market for a potential return on someone they deemed to be their franchise cornerstone after drafting him second overall in 2019.
Morant is currently out with an elbow injury, with him being on the mend for at least three weeks, further complicating trade matters for both him and the Grizzlies. In light of this recent development, Memphis is still looking to trade him away, but not for pennies on the dollar similar to how the Atlanta Hawks received peanuts for Trae Young.
“My sense is that the Grizzlies remain more than open to trade inquiries for Morant … yet also still under pressure to get more in return for Memphis' runaway most popular player than the two team-friendly contracts (CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert) that Atlanta settled for in the Young trade,” NBA insider Marc Stein wrote.
Morant is younger than Young, although he comes with off-court baggage that is sure to depress his trade value as well. The injury issues and underperformance when he's been on the court hasn't helped either.
It would take a lot for the Grizzlies to be able to get what they think they deserve in exchange for Morant, as first and foremost, he has to show that he is healthy and still capable of rising to his superstar levels of yore.
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Where do the Grizzlies go from here with Ja Morant?
Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant (12) reacts during the first quarter against the Atlanta Hawks at FedExForum.
Petre Thomas-Imagn Images
Stein noted that the Grizzlies have been alienating Morant, from openly shopping him on the trade market to favoring head coach Tuomas Iisalo over him, which means that the relationship between the two sides may be irreconcilable at this point.
One thing's for sure: Morant's days with the Grizzlies are numbered. It seems as though it's likely Memphis finds him a new home, if not now, then come offseason time.