Ja Morant Is Available: The Grizzlies Could Not Move Him at the Deadline, But Now Things Have Changed
The Memphis Grizzlies tried to trade Ja Morant in February. They could not get the offers they wanted. Now they are back in the trade market, and the league dynamics are different.
The midseason trade deadline came and went without a serious package emerging for Morant. The Grizzlies asked for the moon. Other teams pointed to the suspensions, the injuries, the off-court history, and the fact that Morant’s brand has lost a lot of national appeal. The result was an awkward standoff that everyone knew would have to resolve eventually.
The summer reset gives the Grizzlies a chance to recalibrate. Morant’s value is not what it was three years ago, when he was a slam-dunk top-ten player and the most exciting young guard in the league. But it is also not zero. He is still one of the most explosive athletes in basketball. He is still an All-Star talent. He is 26 years old, in his physical prime, and not entirely a damaged asset.
The buyer side is also broader now. Teams that struck out in free agency at the top end of the market are going to start looking at the trade market for centerpieces. Teams that lost their lead guard to injury are going to start considering Morant as a one-year flier. Teams that need a marketing infusion or a star to anchor a rebuild are going to listen.
The names that have surfaced as potential destinations include the Brooklyn Nets, the Washington Wizards, the Detroit Pistons, and the Portland Trail Blazers. All four are at different stages of their respective rebuilds. All four have draft capital and young pieces to offer. None of them are obvious title contenders, which is part of the problem. Morant himself is going to have some say in where he lands, and he probably wants a team with a credible shot at the playoffs.
The Detroit fit is the most interesting. The Pistons are a young, ascending team with Cade Cunningham as the cornerstone. Adding Morant gives them backcourt firepower they currently lack. The fit on the court is not perfect, because both Cunningham and Morant need the ball, but the talent infusion would push Detroit from a fringe playoff team to a top-five seed.
The Brooklyn fit is also intriguing. The Nets have a chance to be a star-magnet franchise again, and Morant brings the kind of marketability the franchise has not had since the Kevin Durant era. Brooklyn would have to give up significant assets, but they have enough capital to make a real offer.
The challenge for Memphis is that Morant’s market is going to be limited by his salary and his contract structure. He is on a max deal. He is owed significant money over multiple years. The teams that can absorb that contract are not the teams that necessarily have the most appealing trade packages. The teams that have the most appealing trade packages often cannot absorb the salary.
This is the salary cap reality of the modern NBA. Stars on max deals are harder to move than they used to be. The CBA’s apron rules limit how teams can construct large trades. Morant trades are going to be three-team deals, four-team deals, or extended negotiations that take weeks to finalize.
The Grizzlies themselves are at a crossroads. The Morant era is essentially over, even if the trade does not happen this summer. Memphis has to decide whether to bottom out, trade for established veterans to rebuild around Desmond Bane, or try to thread some kind of middle path. None of the options are great.
The most likely outcome is that Morant gets moved before training camp. The Grizzlies have to commit to a direction. Morant has to know where he stands. The league has to see the trade play out so other teams can adjust their summer plans.
Memphis fans are going to hate the deal, no matter what it is. There is no return for Ja Morant that makes anybody feel good. That is the price the franchise is paying for the last three years.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
