New Ja Morant Trade Rumors Reveal Impact of Giannis' Injury on Possible Bucks, Grizzlies Deal

Don't expect the Milwaukee Bucks to end up with Ja Morant in a last-ditch effort to convince Giannis Antetokounmpo to stick around.

According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, "While the Bucks expressed interest in Grizzlies star Morant, Milwaukee's chances of landing the two-time All-Star were deemed unlikely within the past few days following Antetokounmpo's injury, HoopsHype has learned. As previously reported on HoopsHype, the Grizzlies desired Milwaukee's 2031 or 2032 first-round pick and Most Improved Player of the Year candidate Ryan Rollins in Morant discussions."

What now seems more likely is that Antetokounmpo himself will be traded.

According to ESPN's Shams Charania, the Greek Freak is "ready for a new home ahead of the Feb. 5 trade deadline, as several teams have made aggressive offers to the Bucks, who are starting to listen."

He added, "Multiple teams have received a sense that the Bucks are more open than ever to Antetokounmpo offers between now and the deadline, league sources said. However, Milwaukee has indicated to interested teams that the organization is not in a rush to complete a move and is willing to navigate Antetokounmpo's future in the offseason if its believed price point of a blue-chip young talent and/or a surplus of draft picks isn't met, sources said."

Morant is on the trade block as well, with Charania reporting earlier in January that the Grizzlies were "entertaining trade offers" for the mercurial star. His injury history, off-court history and recent clashes with the Memphis coaching staff, however, have seemed to throttle his market.

At this point, teams around the NBA don't seem willing to pay superstar prices for Morant, instead seeing him as a risky, buy-low option.

But John Hollinger of The Athletic reported that "it seems clear that the Grizzlies are looking for more than just expiring money in return for Morant, and that the eventual deal will involve some combination of useful players, picks and prospects; maybe not hugely useful players, but Memphis seems intent on getting something positive out of this."

There seems to be a gap between what Memphis wants and what teams are willing to offer, in other words. Which means it won't be surprising if the point guard remains with the Grizzlies until at least the summer. That's also a possibility for Giannis, though the Bucks assuredly will receive superstar-level offers for the two-time MVP and one-time champion.