Why the Orlando Magic Should Not Pursue Ja Morant

As NBA stars Trae Young and LaMelo Ball suddenly find themselves in new situations despite being faces of the franchise for years prior, it appears Ja Morant could be the next offensive-minded franchise face star guard on the move.

Morant still has his basketball superpowers, able to heat up any game as a smooth scorer, fly down the floor for electric stop and pop middy pull-ups, change direction with fluid body and ball control on a dime, and operate as a traditional point guard setting up his team.

Despite Ja still seemingly possessing as much talent as ever, his trade value seems to be as low as ever, mostly to perception around the league for issues off the floor, with Memphis reportedly not even being able to find one team to cough up a first-rounder this past trade deadline.

While Memphis brass might come calling to the phones at Orlando's front office (do they still have landlines in offices?), the Magic's decision makers are better off quickly hanging up.

When you start looking at any potential trade details, Morant's salary is so large that 3 of 5 options would require Orlando to move on from one of its three main stars in Banchero, Wagner, or Bane, which of course is not happening in a straight up deal for Morant at this point. So, the only other realistic options involve either sending out Jalen Suggs + a player with matching salary like Jonathan Isaac, or shipping out two key rotation players in lieu of Suggs: Anthony Black and Wendell Carter Jr.

To recap, Orlando would have to either offer 1) Suggs + Isaac in one package, or 2) Black + Carter + Isaac in another package, just to match the salary of Ja Morant in a trade.

The Magic should not trade key players like Black, Suggs, or Carter for Ja Morant, despite how talented Morant is; this team's identity depends on it.

Here’s 2 MIN of new Orlando Magic Head Coach Sean Sweeney’s Defensive & Offensive Philosophies

I asked Sean if this roster fits his Aggressive Switching Defensive style + how he will balance the Offense:

“We need… Education on Shot Quality, Shot Distribution, Shot Allocation” pic.twitter.com/EvwMKdDEGN
— Ryan Kaminski NBA (@beyondtheRK) June 18, 2026

How Memphis Sweetens The Pot

Morant smiles — Mar 21, 2026; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant stands on the court following the game against the Charlotte Hornets at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Brian Westerholt-Imagn Images | Brian Westerholt-Imagn Images

Memphis has a few tricks up their sleeve that could really make this offer more attractive to Orlando.

Beyond just swapping the idea of a star guard to solve the offensive woes in Ja Morant, the Grizzlies could add a talented perimeter defensive prospect like Jaylen Wells to sweeten the deal, as an excellent point of attack guard in his own right.

Not enough? To go a step further, if Orlando's front office was open at this point to any negotiations in reuniting Bane and Morant in Orlando with Franz and Paolo to go to war with this time around, there's two very enticing pieces Memphis can offer to Orlando – their own picks back.

Memphis still has a pick swap in 2029 and a completely unprotected 2030 1st round pick from Orlando from the Bane trade; if Orlando feels they can get more out of Memphis here, the Magic could go back in and add protections to that 2030 pick, or outright demand both picks back in the deal like a scene out of Draft Day.

Still not enough? With how valuable Jalen Suggs and/or a combo of Anthony Black and Wendell Carter Jr. would be to this Grizzlies rebuild, Orlando could demand even further draft compensation with an additional first rounder, or maybe even two firsts, directly from Memphis' private stash of their own picks in the back.

But, even then, when you're staring at the best possible offer one could possibly drag out of Memphis, where the Grizzlies want to move on from Morant so badly while valuing Suggs or Black/Carter so highly they'd be willing to add a good prospect, return both of Orlando's own picks to their rightful owner, and add 1-2 firsts of their own, I'm still not convinced the Magic should even flinch.

This isn't just about Orlando drafted these guys, which is a point in their favor in being invested in their development, but because punting on All-Defensive level guard/forwards who have developed quickly and dramatically year-over-year is a bad team building process, and that logic applies to both Jalen Suggs and Anthony Black.

Add in how much Wendell Carter Jr.'s two-way versatility is prized by this Magic ball club, and I'd personally question if even giving up Carter for Morant would be worth it.

How Sean Sweeney Impacts Spurs Defense

"Switching & Aggression

Sweeney's done a phenomenal job getting this team to buy in defensively to scheme/game plan

You can break teams with your defensive aggression"
- @bensonbrandon10

𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐥 @SwishTheory pic.twitter.com/TDBS4n9KII
— Ryan Kaminski NBA (@beyondtheRK) June 7, 2026

At a certain point, draft picks sweeten any trade, and that's no different here; everyone has a price.

Even so, Orlando has an impressive collection of versatile two-way team-first talent, and while Ja's silky smooth game really could be the oil that greases the wheels of this offense, his overall impact is not worth giving up young core key rotation players for when it will only take another dent out of this team's defensive culture and isn't a guarantee to actually make them a better team for much longer.

The unknown x-factor in player development is that a guy like Jalen Suggs could have the game slow down for him, a guy like Anthony Black could explode with more touches in the right role, a guy like Wendell Carter Jr. could rep out a 3pt shot all summer and come back a true stretch five and take his two-way impact to unpredicted levels.

That's not to say Morant is done working; he will bring his talent to any team that acquires him. But Orlando is at its best when it takes pride on the defensive ends, and the versatility and feel of these core pieces are a huge part of that success.

While there is a new coach in town in Sean Sweeney, he will still have expectations for players to compete hard on both ends of the floor, which this roster is currently constructed to do.

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