New Ja Morant Trade Rumors Reveal Demand from NBA Teams to Grizzlies 'to Take on' Star PG

It may take some effort for the Memphis Grizzlies to find a taker for star guard Ja Morant.

ESPN's Vincent Goodwill reported Morant's injury history and sizable salary "are scaring teams away."

"The Memphis Grizzlies have been open to dealing Morant since the trade deadline, and in the past few days their asking price has dropped considerably from draft capital before last week's draft to pick swaps," Goodwill wrote. "Now they're now trying to match player for player in deals."

Per the report, teams have responded by asking Memphis to add draft sweeteners on top of Morant to facilitate a deal.

Memphis is getting squeezed in two different respects.

Morant isn't a positive trade asset right now for the factors Goodwill referenced.

The 26-year-old has yet to log 70-plus appearances in a single season, and the past three years combined (79 games) haven't even added up to a full regular-season schedule. His performance bottomed out during his limited run in 2025-26 as well. He averaged 19.5 points per game and shot just 23.5 percent from beyond the arc.

Simply put, this is not a player you want to pay $87.1 million over the next two years.

Compounding matters, the list of teams that need a point guard isn't that long and got shorter with the Minnesota Timberwolves setting up a trade to get LaMelo Ball from the Charlotte Hornets.

In addition, the 2026 NBA draft saw a run of guards as well with Keaton Wagler, Mikel Brown Jr., Darius Acuff Jr., Kingston Flemings and Brayden Burries all going in the top 10.

The Atlanta Hawks faced the same problem as the Grizzlies ahead of the 2026 trade deadline and basically accepted a salary dump to move off of four-time All-Star Trae Young.

Based on Goodwill's report, Memphis may not even get that kind of deal. Young went for CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert without Atlanta having to include draft compensation.

Morant could wind up elsewhere by the time opening night is here. It doesn't sound like that's close to coming together.