Ranking Top Trade Packages and Landing Spots for Ja Morant
The Memphis Grizzlies have already traded most of what they once believed was their core and will pick third in the upcoming NBA draft, but their pivot away from the previous era won't be complete until Ja Morant is playing somewhere else.
The market for Morant at the last trade deadline was frigid, and the former All-NBA star didn't suit up after the break. That means the only factors potentially increasing his value are the passage of time and the resulting shrinkage of the money left on his current contract.
Memphis may need to prepare itself for some low-ball offers when it inevitably looks to deal Morant this summer, but at least it's easier than you might think to find suitors. Plenty of teams need shot-creators, and maybe a few of them will talk themselves into the idea that Morant isn't a malcontent in obvious decline.
Let's check out and rank a few possibilities.
5. Sacramento Kings
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Kings Acquire: Ja Morant
Grizzlies Acquire: DeMar DeRozan, De'Andre Hunter, 2030 first-round pick (via MIN; top-10 protected)
The Kings definitely need a new cornerstone, and Morant might be the closest facsimile they can acquire without giving up a hoard of draft picks. Based on the market's stance toward Morant at the deadline, Sacramento could probably get this done without even including that protected Minnesota Timberwolves pick.
The Kings tend to be linked to Morant for the wrong reasons. They've turned transactional mistakes and misguided big-name hunting into an art form, so it follows that they'd be the team to take a flier on someone with Morant's tarnished reputation. But even they should have the wisdom to hold off, even if all it costs is expiring money.
Sacramento will pick seventh in the draft and could just grab whichever of Darius Acuff, Kingston Flemmings, Mikel Brown Jr. or Keaton Wagler is available at that slot.
Maybe there's a scenario where the Kings onboard Morant, start him over whichever unready rookie guard they draft and hope for the best. In this case, that'd be Morant rehabilitating his value by playing more like his old self, at which point Sacramento could flip him at the 2027 deadline, clearing the way for its first-rounder after a few months as an understudy.
Memphis' side is simple. It takes on expiring money (DeRozan's deal isn't even fully guaranteed) and officially turns the page. Any deal where the Grizzlies don't give up an asset to move Morant would feel like a win.
4. Chicago Bulls
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Bulls Acquire: Ja Morant, No. 3 pick
Grizzlies Acquire: Patrick Williams, Jalen Smith, Rob Dillingham, No. 4 pick
Viewed one way, this deal hinges on the Grizzlies believing they need to pay a toll to get off Morant's deal. That may be true, and moving back one pick might seem like a heavy price. But Morant comes with baggage and athletic decline that could turn the remaining two years and $87 million into one of the league's worst deals—if it isn't already.
What's interesting here is the possibility that Memphis actually doesn't see much difference in picking third or fourth. Maybe the Grizzlies view Cam Boozer and Caleb Wilson as equally valuable, in which case all they're doing is breaking Morant's bad deal into several smaller contracts, some of which might even wind up being positive assets.
Williams' remaining three years and $54 million certainly isn't a bargain, but maybe Dillingham will pop on his third team. And maybe Smith could wind up being desirable at the next deadline.
Morant might not interest the Bulls at all, as they're just now beginning a proper rebuild. At the same time, maybe Chicago views the draft differently and believes there's a huge gap between No. 3 and No. 4. In that hypothetical, it's not so hard to imagine the Bulls taking on Morant and all his associated risk, particularly if it also gets them out of the Williams business.
3. Minnesota Timberwolves
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Timberwolves Acquire: Ja Morant
Grizzlies Acquire: Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo
Alternate versions of this deal exist where the Wolves give up more usable pieces in place of DiVincenzo, with Joan Beringer and Terrence Shannon Jr. heading to Memphis.
That package feels like an overpay for a couple of reasons.
The Wolves are the first team we've included with actual stakes. This is a winning organization looking to improve itself after failing to make a third straight Western Conference Finals. Taking on Morant is scary enough for a squad that should be pretty risk-averse because it has a lot to lose, and sending out multiple rotation pieces (some with real upside) just seems too dangerous.
Here, Minnesota coughs up Randle, who again couldn't succeed as a secondary playmaker next to Anthony Edwards in the playoffs, and DiVincenzo, who'll miss all of next season on an expiring salary. It's possible this isn't the best offer Memphis receives, but it's the best one Minnesota should be willing to make.
In theory, Morant could do what Randle couldn't. His playmaking and ability to bend defenses with downhill attacks or pick-and-rolls could add new dimensions to the Wolves' offense and ease the pressure on Edwards. It's not ideal that Morant's poor shooting at the guard spot is probably more damaging than Randle's inconsistency at forward, but this trade would also slot Naz Reid into a starting role, and he can stripe it from deep.
Squint, and you can see Morant as part of a significantly improved Wolves attack.
2. Miami Heat
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Heat Acquire: Ja Morant
Grizzlies Acquire: Tyler Herro
Sometimes, simplicity has its merits. This is a one-for-one challenge trade in which the Heat simply send Herro to Memphis and bank on Morant returning to form.
While Miami could certainly construct packages using Andrew Wiggins (if he picks up his player option) or some combination of Nikola Jović and salary filler, using Herro as the matching salary makes sense. He and Morant couldn't play together in a competent backcourt, and the Grizzlies would probably be open to the idea of acquiring a player who was an All-Star more recently than Morant.
Herro's deal also expires a year sooner and would save the Grizzlies $9.2 million in 2026-27 salary.
One hangup: Executing this deal before the league year flips on July 1 is important. Per Spotrac, the Heat take on just a hair too much money if it gets done in the 2025-26 league year. Additional salaries could take care of that, but this most basic structure only works until the end of June.
If there's a team out there that has reason to believe it can turn Morant's career around, it's probably the star-hunting Heat. This wouldn't be the first time a distressed asset found its best form in Miami.
1. Phoenix Suns
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Suns Acquire: Ja Morant
Grizzlies Acquire: Jalen Green
One good challenge trade deserves another, and this one comes across as a little more realistic than Miami parting with Herro for Morant.
The Grizzlies don't have much scoring punch at the 2, and Green provides plenty of that if you can look past his flaws as a defender. Another positive from Memphis' side is that Green is only heading into his age-24 season and will cost about $15 million less than Morant over the remaining two years on his contract.
Green missed 50 games last year with persistent hamstring issues but played all 82 contests in each of two previous years. Given Morant's health issues, the Grizzlies can expect much more bang for their buck with Green. And if the obviously gifted guard takes another step forward in the efficiency department, he might just objectively outproduce Morant over the next two seasons.
Phoenix would need to believe the opposite about Green and Morant's trajectories, but there's also a positional component here. The Suns defended like a swarm of angry hornets last season, but their offense suffered due to the lack of a proven point guard at the controls. Devin Booker is a good facilitator at his position, but he's overtaxed as both the team's top scorer and main setup man.
Morant could slot in at the 1 and put everybody else back into their proper roles, potentially getting the best out of Booker and helping young bigs like Khaman Maluach pick up some easy buckets near the rim. Phoenix has plenty of shooters to help offset Morant's lack of spacing impact and, perhaps most importantly, doesn't have the resources to acquire anyone with Morant's long-shot upside via trade.
Stats courtesy of NBA.com, Basketball Reference and Cleaning the Glass. Salary info via Spotrac.
Grant Hughes covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Bluesky and subscribe to the Hardwood Knocks podcast, where he appears with Bleacher Report's Dan Favale.
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