Grizzlies rumors: Insider issues Ja Morant trade warning amid franchise star doubts
Yesterday at 12:46 PM
The Memphis Grizzlies stunned the NBA world when they fired head coach Taylor Jenkins just weeks before the start of the NBA Playoffs. With Jenkins out and the Grizzlies fading hard, many are now speculating about the future of star point guard Ja Morant.
The Athletic’s Sam Amick addressed Morant’s Grizzlies future on FanDuel’s Run It Back show and likened it to the De’Aaron Fox situation with the Sacramento Kings. While this doesn’t guarantee Morant will be traded in the near future like Fox just was, especially since the Memphis star still has three years left on his contract, it’s something to “keep an eye on.”
“Little bit of the same vibe of the [De’Aaron] Fox situation, which is like, ‘Alright keep your eyes on it and see where it goes,'” Amick said.
"Little bit of the same vibe of the [De'Aaron] Fox situation, which is like, 'Alright keep your eyes on it and see where it goes.'"
Sam Amick on Ja Morant's future with the Grizzlies moving forward
(via @RunItBackFDTV)pic.twitter.com/1qdEwvvYQ3
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) April 1, 2025
After a strong start to the season, the Grizzlies have lost six of seven games to drop to 44-31 on the season, which is just a half-game ahead of the Golden State Warriors for the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference (these two teams play Tuesday). If Memphis keeps this up, dropping into the play-in tournament isn’t out of the question with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Los Angeles Clippers also lurking.
Ja Morant’s falling star status
During all this, Morant has gone through yet another injury-plagued season. After appearing in just nine games in 2023-24, he has played 45 games this season. Between injuries and his off-court struggles in recent years, some are questioning whether he can still be the Grizzlies’ franchise star he seemed destined to be when he blossomed into a superstar in Year 3 of his career.
“Does he sell tickets? Yes,” a rival GM told ESPN. “Is he a top-25 player when healthy? Yes. Can he win multiple series as the best player? No. Not sure most years you can win even one. Plus he is always hurt.”
Will the change from Jenkins to Tuomas Iisalo reinvigorate Morant and the Grizzlies? Or is this headed to an ugly divorce this summer? There have been rumblings that Morant isn’t a fan of the new offense Iisalo helped implement under Jenkins this season, so perhaps the latter is more likely if that’s true. Memphis shook up the coaching staff in a big way last offseason, leading to Jenkins “losing the locker room,” including Morant. Iisalo has the tall task of trying to get it back under control.
So, for now, Memphis will try to save its season from falling totally off the rails.
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