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New Report Suggests Ja Morant Could Be Traded to Eastern Conference

Now that Desmond Bane was shipped off to the Orlando Magic, inklings of a potential Ja Morant trade are beginning to formulate
Matt Guzman|
Oct 18, 2024; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant (12) reacts during the second half against the Miami Heat at FedExForum.
Oct 18, 2024; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant (12) reacts during the second half against the Miami Heat at FedExForum. | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

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If the Memphis Grizzlies had their druthers, they wouldn't be entering any kind of rebuild next season.

As it turns out, sending Desmond Bane away for several first-round picks could end being one of many dominoes to fall. Perhaps the biggest? Ja Morant.

In a recent report by Yahoo! Sports' Vince Goodwill, the Miami Heat were said to be interested in Morant during the process of the Golden State Warriors' bid at Jimmy Butler III. Nothing materialized, but it seemed to lay the framework for a potential deal, if the future opportunity were to arise.

"In the middle of the whole Jimmy Butler saga last year, one name that multiple league sources brought up to me was ... Ja Morant in Miami," Goodwill said, "and I didn’t understand the iterations of it. I was like, this is going to be a really complicated trade — A, because of Jimmy’s extension; B, because of Ja’s long money.

Any deal at the trade deadline regarding Morant was going to be complicated, and as the regular season wound down, another reason for that became apparent. Taylor Jenkins was dismissed without prior notice, and the Grizzlies were forced to head to the postseason behind then-interim coach Tuomas Iisalo.

Now that Memphis has its bearings behind Iisalo, who was named Jenkins' full-time successor after his team was swept by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round of the Western Conference Playoffs, and Bane is gone, the talks could ramp up again.

In that situation, Bane goes back to being another domino that fell.

"There were iterations of Ja and Desmond Bane being shipped out," Goodwill said, "which sounds like it could be true, considering Desmond Bane was just traded yesterday.”

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Matt Guzman
MATT GUZMAN

Matt Guzman is a sports journalist and storyteller from Austin, Texas. He serves as a credentialed reporter and site manager for San Antonio Spurs On SI and a staff writer for multiple collegiate sites in the same network. In the world of professional sports, he is a firm believer that athletes are people, too, and intends to tell stories of players and teams’ true, behind-the-scenes character that otherwise would not be seen through strong narrative writing, hooking ledes and passionate words.

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