Ja Morant Reportedly Still Viewed as Face of Franchise by Grizzlies After Bane Trade

The Memphis Grizzlies' decision to trade Desmond Bane doesn't reflect any shift in the organizational view of star guard Ja Morant, according to ESPN's Tim MacMahon.

MacMahon reported Sunday on the Hoop Collective podcast the Grizzlies "still firmly view Ja Morant as the face of that franchise."

The NBA insider laid out how the front office has made Morant "the sun of the Grizzlies' universe" (13:45 mark):

"Everything they've done over the last few months, going back to the coaching change, going back to the scrapping the system — remember, they brought [assistant coach] Noah LaRoche in, paid him a seven-figure salary, let him implement a very unconventional system that in some ways worked but it took away from Ja Morant and Ja hated it. Ja was not going to be happy. Ja was not going to play in that system long term. Noah LaRoche is gone along with Taylor Jenkins."

MacMahon said Morant will only get traded if he requests a move out of Memphis.

The report comes after the Grizzlies executed a stunning trade that sent guard Desmond Bane to the Orlando Magic for a return that includes four first-round picks.

Turning one of your best players into multiple first-rounders is often the first step in a major rebuild. It didn't take long for people to wonder whether Morant or center Jaren Jackson Jr. are on the block, too.

It's just as easy to read the Bane trade as another double down on Morant, who's one of the few pieces still left from the 2021-22 Grizzlies team that won 56 games and reached the Western Conference semifinals.

General manager Zach Kleiman now has some valuable assets that can be leveraged to land a one-for-one upgrade over Bane or improve the roster in the aggregate.

Morant is a free agent in 2028. If Memphis takes a step backward in 2025-26, then perhaps it's worth seriously weighing all of the options with the two-time All-Star. But it doesn't sound like Kleiman has any intention of doing that this summer.