Ja Morant Trade Won't Ever Be the Answer for Houston Rockets
At this point, every Ja Morant rumor is accompanied by caveats and equivocation.
The Memphis Grizzlies aren't actively looking to trade the longtime face of their franchise, but this season has been bad enough, and Morant's press conferences have been volatile enough, that the idea is unavoidable.
On Thursday, NBA insider Jake Fischer added to the discussion with a specific landing spot, writing that league executives "have pinpointed [the Houston Rockets] as a potential trade suitor for the 26-year-old."
He later added that Houston is in a "holding pattern," and that there isn't a "credible murmur from the Grizzlies' side to suggest that they would even entertain the idea of trying to trade their runaway most popular player," but this conversation isn't going to stop without a significant Memphis winning streak.
And again, this Grizzlies team doesn't appear to be anywhere near the verge of that, and Morant is a big reason why.
He's already missed a game due to a suspension for conduct detrimental to the team. He's shooting 38.3 percent from the field and 14.0 percent from deep. He's committing the 13th most turnovers per 100 possessions in the league. And the Grizzlies' point differential is dramatically worse when he's on the floor.
Part of that is because Morant has looked disengaged for long stretches this season. But it might be time to admit he's also been sapped of some of the superpower that made him so good three years ago.
Morant has dealt with a variety of injuries throughout his career, and he's not quite as explosive as he was during the All-Star campaigns in 2021-22 and 2022-23.
In terms of on-court ability and fit alone, he just doesn't make a lot of sense for the Rockets. That's while acknowledging the absence of Fred VanVleet, who tore his ACL just before this season started. When that news broke, it was fair to think Houston had a need at the 1.
It was also fair to think the Rockets could piece together enough playmaking with Amen Thompson, Alperen Şengün, Reed Sheppard and Kevin Durant.
Through this early portion of the season, it sure looks like those who fell into that second camp were right.
Houston is first in the league in points per 100 possessions. Durant (24.0), Şengün (22.4) and Thompson (18.6) are all over 18 points per game. Şengün (7.3) and Thompson (5.7) are averaging over five assists. Sheppard is still adjusting to life in the NBA, but he's shooting 42.9 percent from deep and averaging 3.0 assists in just 20.0 minutes.
At his peak, Morant was one of the most exciting and naturally gifted players in the NBA. Dropping this version of Ja, or even one that's 90 percent of the old version, would potentially derail Houston's dynamic, unpredictable attack.
Instead of an offense that can be initiated from multiple different playmakers and from just about anywhere in the floor, the Rockets would have to accommodate a ball-dominant, poor-shooting point guard who'd take shots from more efficient scorers. Morant has exactly one season with an above-average true shooting percentage, and that was back in 2021-22 (when he was barely over the threshold).
And that's to say nothing about the potential impact on defense, something Houston coach Ime Udoka takes very seriously. Morant is undersized, can get swallowed up by screens and has only one season in his career with an above-average defensive estimated plus-minus.
In short, it makes perfect sense that Houston is reportedly in the aforementioned "holding pattern" on the Morant front.
Instead of taking what would amount to be, at best, a roll of the dice on Morant rediscovering some of his old magic, Houston should just keep developing Thompson and Sheppard on the fly. They're already winning while doing that. And long-term, Thompson could absolutely be better than Morant ever was.
Thompson might be even more explosive vertically, and he's five inches taller than Ja. Perhaps most importantly, he's already one of the NBA's most disruptive defenders.
Over the years, plenty of teams have tried two-timeline approaches that would allow them to win now while still building hope for the future. Houston is pulling it off right now.
There's no reason to disrupt what's working, especially not for a point guard who may soon be defined as a former star.
