Grizzlies Listening to Ja Morant Offers As Trade Deadline Nears

Could Memphis move its mercurial star?

Ja Morant has spent his entire seven-year career with the Grizzlies. / Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

There was a time when Grizzlies guard Ja Morant looked poised to rule the 2020s—as recently as four years ago, he was a 27 point-per-game starter on a 56-26 team.

However, Memphis’s plans have gone awry, and though Morant has remained potent on the court, he may be on his way out the door.

The Grizzlies are listening to offers on Morant ahead of the Feb. 5 trade deadline, according to a Friday afternoon report from Shams Charania of ESPN.

“This is the first time the Grizzlies have engaged other teams in trades for Morant, who was the No. 2 pick in the 2019 draft,” Charania wrote.

Morant’s first three seasons with Memphis could hardly have gone smoother: he was the NBA Rookie of the Year in 2020 and the Most Improved Player in 2022. However, in early 2023, Morant incurred two suspensions after appearing to flash guns on Instagram Live. Those suspensions were followed by multiple injuries, and in November, Morant earned a one-game suspension after a postgame exchange with coach Tuomas Iisalo.

Despite all this, the Grizzlies have developed an intriguing young core around Morant, and currently sit in 10th in the Western Conference with a record of 16-21.

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