NBA Exec Rips Ja Morant As Trade Buzz Hits Peak Levels
The Grizz are looking to deal Morant.
To trade Ja Morant, or to not trade Ja Morant? That's been a question NBA fans, specifically Memphis Grizzlies supporters, have been contemplating for multiple seasons amid his off-the-court issues and inability to consistently take the floor. But as the NBA trade deadline fast approaches, the buzz around the franchise moving on from their franchise player has hit a new level.
Last week, it was first reported by NBA insider Shams Charania that Memphis is "entertaining offers" to potentially trade Morant ahead of the February 5 deadline. The Grizzlies currently sit 10th in the Western Conference and could potentially sneak into the postseason, but by no means are they legitimate title contenders, so trading Morant and undergoing a minor rebuild would be a plausible move for the franchise.
Ja Morant has played six seasons in Memphis. Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images
Now that Morant is reportedly on the trade block, the questions center around what his value may be. According to one anonymous NBA team executive, it's not exactly high.
"Feedback we got on Ja wasn't any more favorable than the feedback that we got on Trae [Young]," ESPN's Tim MacMahon recently explained on the ‘Hoop Collective’ podcast. "The combination of pain in the as-, injury prone, not that good anymore, and big contract is a bad one."
Anyone who would argue against the executive's overall sentiment about Morant would be naive.
Morant has made multiple boneheaded decisions off the court and endured lengthy suspensions in recent years. He hasn't played more than 50 games in a season since the 2022-23 campaign, and because of those two factors, his contract is among the worst in the NBA.
You could, however, push back on the executive's comment about Morant not being "that good anymore." The 26-year-old is averaging 19 points and nearly eight assists across his 18 games played this season, but is admittedly struggling shooting the basketball with a field goal percentage of 40.1%, which is by far his lowest percentage of his NBA career.
The former second-overall pick is making $39.5 million this season while having $87.1 million left on his contract over the next two years. Pitching that type of contract attached to a player who consistently misses games is not an easy sell for Memphis.