Ja Morant Agrees to Grizzlies Rookie Contract After Being Taken No. 2 Overall
The Memphis Grizzlies and point guard Ja Morant, the second overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft, reached an agreement Tuesday on a rookie contract.
“We are thrilled to formally welcome Ja Morant to our organization,” Grizzlies Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Zachary Z. Kleiman said in the team release. “He is a high character individual and a unique talent. We look forward to building with Ja as we establish a dynamic team in Memphis for years to come.”
Morant emerged as a top prospect with a tremendous sophomore season at Murray State, and the Grizzlies tipped their hand about the No. 2 selection when they traded starting point guard Mike Conley to the Utah Jazz a couple days before the draft.
"Obviously, I know I have some big shoes to fill with Mike Conley, but I'm just excited," Morant told reporters. "It just makes me happy to see that Memphis has trust in me and believes in me."
The 19-year-old South Carolina native averaged 24.5 points, 10 assists, 5.7 rebounds and 1.8 steals while shooting 49.9 percent from the field, including 36.3 percent from beyond the arc, across 33 appearances for the Racers in 2018-19.
It represented a massive across-the-board increase in production from his freshman season, but the consensus first-team All-American and Division I assists leader isn't content.
"I feel like I still have room to improve on every aspect of my game," Morant said. "I'm never satisfied with anything."
Morant is immediately going to take on a spotlight role for a Grizzlies squad that otherwise lacks high-end talent during its rebuilding process.
Memphis selected Jaren Jackson Jr. with the fourth overall pick in 2018. He showed promise as a rookie by putting up 13.8 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game, but a right quad injury limited him to 58 appearances and halted his development for awhile.
The Grizzlies will hope the combination of Morant and Jackson can form the foundation for long-term success, giving the front office a chance to retool other areas of the roster.
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