With the Grizzlies trading Desmond Bane in the summer and Jaren Jackson Jr. today, Ja Morant must come to terms with the reality that the franchise that drafted him is entering a full rebuild.
According to Kelly Iko, the national NBA reporter for Yahoo Sports, teams around the league now expect that since the Grizzlies have a dearth of assets to build around, they could leverage a lower asking price for Morant.
“Following Jackson’s departure — a transaction that now gives general manager Zach Kleiman 13 future first-round picks over the next seven years (in addition to a $29 million trade exception) — rival executives anticipate a reduction in Ja Morant’s asking price, potentially accelerating a departure by Thursday’s trade deadline, sources told Yahoo Sports,” wrote Iko in his recent report on Morant.
While Morant has repeatedly professed his love for the city of Memphis and says he doesn’t plan on leaving the franchise, the front office may soon look to offload him in order to facilitate a full rebuild.
The Bucks were initially in trade talks with the Grizzlies’ front office for Morant to potentially join Giannis Antetokounmpo in Milwaukee. The asking price at the time was one valuable draft asset (One of 2031 or 2032 first-round picks) and a solid young player (Ryan Rollins).
But now it seems the Grizzlies are simply willing to be a part of Giannis Antetokounmpo’s trade demands as a facilitator, which allows them to also offload Morant.
The Grizzlies guard is arguably having his worst season as a professional player and is no longer an explosive offensive threat like he was prior to his injuries. He is currently averaging 19.5 points, 8.1 assists, and 3.3 rebounds while shooting 41.0% from the field and 23.5% from beyond the arc.
Morant has missed a significant portion of this season due to injuries, and when he has played, he has looked like a shell of the All-Star caliber player he once was. Therefore, he needs to come to terms with the fact that his time in Memphis may be over.
Rumors suggest that there is not a lot of demand for Morant in a standalone trade, and thus, the Grizzlies’ front office wants to make use of the demand for Giannis Antetokounmpo to offload him.
Considering that rumors also suggested Jackson Jr. would have asked for a trade if Morant was offloaded earlier, it is reasonable to assume that Morant may no longer want to play on the Grizzlies if his close peers are not on the team anymore.
It will be interesting to see if a lowered asking price generates any demand in the league for Morant. But as of now, they don’t seem to be in a rush to offload Morant since they have acquired assets to rebuild over the next several years already.
They could decide to rebuild around him as well, but that seems highly unlikely. Do you think Morant will be offloaded to simply initiate the full rebuild? Or does Morant still have a future in Memphis? Let us know what you think in the comments section.
