Grizzlies Must Consider Ja Morant Trade Despite NBA Rumors Surrounding PG's Market
At his height, Ja Morant was a franchise star who could put the Memphis Grizzlies on his shoulders and carry them where they wanted to go. He was a game-changer, a point guard who could facilitate offense and will his team to victory by elevating the play of those around him.
He has not been at his height in a few years now, though, and his off-the-court issues have proven to be a headache for Memphis. The latest is a one-game suspension for conduct detrimental to the team following a locker room incident involving head coach Tuomas Iisola, ESPN's Shams Charania reported on Sports Illustrated (1:03).
It is the latest incident from a star player who once had the NBA world in his hands but has become more of a distraction to the Grizzlies than an asset, and for that reason, the organization must consider a trade.
Ignore the behavioral issues that have plagued him since 2023, and there are still on-court signs that Memphis should consider a trade. His point totals have dropped by seven a game since his best season in 2021-22. His field goal percentage has consistently dipped, and his three-point percentage appears to have bottomed out early here in the 2025-26 season as he has shot just 15.6 percent from beyond the arc.
The problem for the Grizzlies is that there is not a "robust" market for Morant, as Tim Bontemps and Tim MacMahon reported on the Hoop Collective podcast (13:00).
Still, the Grizzlies must try to eliminate the distraction and, instead, look to the young stars of the here and now, like Jaren Jackson Jr., to build the team around, even if it means not getting in return enough for the name value of Morant, or having to eat some of his five-year, $197,230,450 contract that he signed two years ago.
It is clear that Morant does not agree with Iisola's coaching techniques and is not happy with the direction that the team is headed.
Rather than allowing the disruptions and letting the media focus on the wrong headlines, find a trade partner, make the deal, and move on.
Otherwise, the team risks making the narrative surrounding it about placating Morant than focusing on the on-court present and future of the Grizzlies and their pursuit of an NBA title.
