Throughout his six-year career in the NBA, there’s no doubt that Ja Morant has been the Grizzlies’ best player. However, there has been talk among franchise executives, especially after the Luka Doncic trade, that the young point guard might be traded out of Memphis this upcoming summer.
The news spread like wildfire through the internet at the start of the week after the latest episode of the Real Ones podcast, when the The Ringers’s Howard Beck revealed that an anonymous executive assured that Morant’s name was being tossed around as a potential trade candidate if his team doesn’t have a strong playoff run this season.
The reason could be the fact that there is a directive from Memphis‘ ownership to cut payroll, especially considering that the squad’s core is getting more expensive without necessarily being more competitive and contending for titles.
An NBA executive pegs Ja Morant as a star to “keep an eye on” as a potential trade candidate this summer
Per @HowardBeck on @ringer
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— Fullcourtpass (@Fullcourtpass) February 18, 2025
Beck assured that an NBA executive referred to Ja as a star to “keep an eye on” this next summer. “I’m constantly checking in with executives around trade deadline about like, okay, what we saw, what we didn’t see, what’s next, and in this league, you are always, always, always on the lookout for who’s the next wave of stars that are going to get dealt, right?
“… And somebody out of the blue said, keep an eye on Ja [Morant] this summer,” the reporter from The Ringer shared. “I’m just saying it’s one of those things I’m just kind of keeping an eye on if they were to flame out early.”
There are many reasons behind this rumor, one of them being that the 25-year-old has only competed in 41 games since the start of the 2023-24 season. Believe it or not, Morant has never played more than 63 matches in a single campaign. The two-time All-Star is averaging 20.7 points and 7.4 assists in 32 starts this season.
We also can’t help but mention that there has also been many off-court issues involving the point guard, especially two situations on social media in which he was seen having erratic behaviour and displaying a handgun. He was suspended by the league in both occasions, including a historic 25-game ban.
