Why holding onto Ja Morant might still be the Grizzlies’ best move

Would the return justify trading away a franchise icon?

Dec 30, 2025; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant (12) shoots during the fourth quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Ja Morant is a special basketball player, but also one who deals with constant injuries and off the court issues. This often leads to his name being brough up in trade discussions, especially as many conflicts have been with the coaching staff.

While a Morant trade could be in the Grizzlies future, would it be the right choice?

Our team OnSi takes a look Below

Austin Dobbins

Trading Morant would be hard to do, he is the Grizzlies franchise icon. Not only did he put the Grizzlies back on the map, but he has become a Super Star in the process, one that would still require a large return in a trade. Trading Morant at the deadline could make sense if there was a market, however, the Grizzlies have such a strong young core that they have to see play together. Health has made this nearly impossible for the Grizzlies. The rest of the 2025-2026 season should be an evaluation for whether or not Morant is the guy to lead this team in the future.

Most importantly the Grizzlies can't just trade Morant just because, maximize his value in any deal.

People around the league believe Ja Morant, LaMelo Ball, and Trae Young all have “negative value” and wouldn’t be surprised if they were traded for one another, per @espn

"I wouldn't want any of them,"

"They all might have negative value,"

"When there are these sort of… pic.twitter.com/RdVzyp5trV

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) December 3, 2025

Why January 2026 will shape the new year for Morant, Grizzlies

Jeremy Brener

"The Grizzlies need to figure out how their team looks when everyone is healthy for a decent stretch of games before deciding whether or not to trade Ja Morant. Another thing to keep in mind is figuring out how much the Grizzlies could get if they were to trade Morant. There isn't necessarily going to be a package that justifies trading Morant ahead of the February 5th trade deadline, so the Grizzlies should use the second half of the season to showcase Morant and figure out how much he can contribute to the team's future success. That will determine whether or not to trade him and for how much."

Ryan Kaminski

"Ja means too much to Memphis, and probably more to the that franchise than any other team at the moment. Morant can still zoom by defenders downhill with flashy handles, finesse finishes, and highlight slams. An electric scorer and kick out artist, the team still has a nice core of Morant, Wells, Coward, Jackson, and Edey to build around whether they make the playoffs or add more talent in the lottery."

Ethan J. Skolnick

"Even with his efficiency cratering this season (until Tuesday's 40-point explosion), and his presence not correlating with much winning, it never made much sense to just dump Ja Morant this season. Morant is under contract for two seasons at $85 million after this season, so it will be hard to find fair value. The only trade that really makes sense is to get a point guard in return, since the Grizzlies are stacked at the other four spots, especially with the emergence of Jaylen Wells, Cam Spencer and Cedric Coward. And it's not clear Trae Young or especially LaMelo Bell would be better fits. So wait it out, and see if you can make it work with him."

Our team here at OnSi is in agreement, on Morant, and it makes sense to wait it out. There is no reason to send out a player as talented as Morant just because, and the Grizzlies still need to see what they have with a healthy squad of Jaren Jackson Jr. Ja Morant, Zach Edey, Cedric Coward, Jaylen Wells, and others.