All-Star Guard Reportedly Does Not Want Trade to Kings

The Sacramento Kings rumor mill continues with a Ja Morant update hours before the trade deadline.

Dec 5, 2024; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant (12) dribbles as Sacramento Kings forward DeMar DeRozan (10) defends during the first quarter at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

The NBA trade deadline is just hours away, and rumors continue to swirl after a dizzying few days in the association. The Kings have been quiet since they traded Dennis Schroder and Keon Ellis for De'Andre Hunter, but they are still involved with some of the biggest names on the trade market.

That includes a potential swap with the Toronto Raptors with Domantas Sabonis and RJ Barrett, but they also continue to be linked to Ja Morant, who is arguably the biggest name left on the trading block.

The issue with the Kings and Raptors trade continues to come down to Jakob Poeltl and his contract. The Kings want no part in it, as he's owed big money through the 2029-30 season. In a world where no team wants to take on money, it's likely the only reason a deal hasn't been made between the two teams yet.

But there is one team out there that could take on Poeltl's long-term money, and that's the Memphis Grizzlies, which connects all of the Kings rumors like string on a whiteboard. In this complicated hypothetical, Morant would likely be on his way to Sacramento, and maybe even with Barrett alongside him.

It's certainly possible that the Kings still pull off a major blockbuster that could land them both Morant and Barrett, but there's one big holdup that could keep the deal from happening.

Morant Not Interested in Sacramento

Host of The Kings Beat and Locked on Kings podcasts James Ham joined ESPN1320's The Jump with Kyle Madson and Jesse Tapia and stated that Morant is not interested in a trade that would land him in Sacramento. "There's enough reporting that he just doesn't want to come to Sacramento," Ham stated.

Unfortunately for Morant, it doesn't really matter where he does and doesn't want to go. The Grizzlies are in full-on rebuild mode and keeping the All-Star guard just doesn't make sense for them. But what does matter for the Kings is if they want to bring in someone who so clearly doesn't want to be here.

"Ja Morant can want to go to Miami, but the Memphis Grizzlies don't care what Ja Morant wants. The Kings shouldn't care either, but at the same time, you don't want to get someone in your building when you are the team that is literally saying are you a hostage or a volunteer. It's one thing to have hostages that are already here, it's another thing to add to your list of hostages."

When he took over as general manager, Scott Perry made a huge deal of having volunteers and not hostages on the team, hence the references from Ham, above. Morant could be a franchise-altering player, but he also could set the Kings back even further in their rebuild if things go sideways.

It's always possible the Kings could trade him once again if it doesn't work out, but at the same time, his value could drop even lower, and Sacramento could be stuck with another long-term contract that they have to wait out like Zach LaVine. Luckily for us, we only have a few more hours to wait before we get our final answers and resolutions to all of these trade rumors.