Latest Ja Morant Trade Rumors Reflect Grizzlies’ Shrinking Hopes for Summer Blockbuster

From all reports it seems like Ja Morant was one of the most available big names at this year’s NBA trade deadline. But the Grizzlies didn’t wind up moving the former All-Star point guard, instead opting to ship out Jaren Jackson Jr. for a massive pick-laden package from the Jazz. Among many other ripple effects, the decision to trade JJJ indicates Memphis is officially moving on from the Morant/Jackson core and shifting into rebuild mode instead.

That transition won’t be fully complete until Morant winds up elsewhere, which feels like an inevitability at this point. He seems to have worn out his welcome, as evidenced by the fact the Grizzlies shopped him for months leading up to the Feb. 5 deadline. However, they didn’t find a deal they liked. There were offers. But reporting around the situation consistently indicated that no team was willing to give up assets of note for Morant given his history of off-court issues and consistent availability issues.

The Grizzlies apparently aren’t driven to move Morant at any cost and instead want to wait until they get an offer worth considering for the talent Morant clearly possesses, even if his on-court impact has rarely reflected it of late.

In a few months, the offseason will begin and Morant will again become trade-eligible. Barring a very drastic change of course by the franchise, Memphis will seek trade offers once more. But the latest rumors concerning the lack of interest in Morant before the deadline reflect the shrinking hopes the Grizzlies face of getting a blockbuster-level return for a former All-NBA star who is only 26 years old.

Latest Ja Morant trade rumors

On Sunday NBA insider Jake Fischer reported on Morant’s trade market after the dust settled surrounding the deadline. Per Fischer, there was precisely one team that showed anything other than passing interest in Morant: the Kings. The Heat were named as another mildly interested suitor but they backed off by the deadline to fully engage in the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade saga. Finally, Fischer mentions there are teams that believe the Bucks’ reported interest in Morant is real.

“Memphis' Ja Morant just didn't have much a [sic] trade market no matter how seriously the Grizzlies explored their options for sending him elsewhere,” Fischer wrote viaThe Stein Line Substack. “Sources say Sacramento only ever showed modest interest. I'm told Miami, too, only inquired about Morant with the idea of acquiring him in a deal similar to Washington's asset-light acquisition of Trae Young. And the Heat, sources say, were not actively pursuing Morant in the days leading up to the deadline because Antetokounmpo had become their primary target.

“One scenario that has to be filed away—for all the justified questions about fit—is the prospect of Milwaukee trading for Morant. Numerous teams came away from the deadline believing that the Bucks' interest in Morant was genuine.”

Sacramento has been consistently linked with Morant as the one team with anything resembling genuine interest in acquiring the high-flying point guard. Miami has been named as an interesting destination given the notorious “Heat Culture” and the franchise’s lack of a long-term answer in the backcourt but only had passing interest based on the possibility of stealing Morant away for paltry assets, as noted above. Both teams were named by Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix as potential landing spots for Morant in the lead-up to the deadline. Milwaukee, well ... The Bucks’ deadline was all over the place with Antetokounmpo rumors swirling, and they didn’t end up doing anything of note, instead opting to sign Cam Thomas on the buyout market.

None of that is necessarily surprising for those who have been keeping tabs on the Morant situation. But Fischer’s reporting hammers home that, up to the final hour, the NBA as a whole was simply not enticed by the prospect of Morant. It is still a bit shocking to see his value plummet to this degree, but it’s an undeniable reality at this point.

Why Grizzlies’ hopes of a blockbuster trade for Morant are all but gone

It is also a difficult reality for Memphis to accept, because it means any hope of earning an equal return for an (on paper) All-NBA talent who was once seen as a future face of the league.

Look at the situation in a vacuum. If any NBA team were to put a 26-year-old player on the trade block who, in the first six years of his career, made two All-Star teams, won the Most Improved Player award and was named third-team All-NBA, there should be a bidding war. A pretty competitive one, too! Players with that sort of résumé are widely viewed as stars and stars just don’t hit the trade market that often.

The Grizzlies were obviously hoping so. It hasn’t proven to be true at all. Whether it’s because Morant hasn’t played more than 50 games since 2023, or because he got hit with his third career suspension in November after a dispute with his own coach, or because point guards who can’t shoot aren’t as valuable as Morant’s $197 million contract suggests ... There is simply no market.

It’s unlikely to change between now and the offseason, too. Morant isn’t playing due to an elbow sprain and very well may not see the court again this season as the Grizzlies endeavor to finish with as poor a record as possible. His questionable off-court past and injury history aren’t going away. Neither is his enormous deal, although there will only be two years remaining on it when summer hits. If no team was desperate enough to make a sizable offer for Morant in the middle of this campaign, it’s hard to see the offseason bringing such desperation given the greater variety of ways teams can improve in the summer versus midseason.

There is, of course, always a slim hope that a big offer will come for Morant because the NBA is, if anything, extraordinarily unpredictable. Something unforeseen could occur between now and July where a contending team is suddenly in need of a slashing point guard and isn’t worried about the other issues that come attached.

But this latest batch of rumors hammers home just how low Morant’s value is around the league, and the Grizzlies’ hopes of getting a big-time return for their former face of the franchise are on life support.

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