The NBA trade deadline is just over 24 hours away, so turn on your Shams Charania notifications and get some popcorn ready. We’ve already seen quite a few moves go down, including James Harden and Darius Garland switching places, Jaren Jackson Jr. going to the Jazz, and the Bulls and Celtics swapping Nikola Vucevic and Anfernee Simons.
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The rumor mill will continue operating at a fevered pace until the deadline actually passes. Much of that stems from interest in Giannis Antetokounmpo and whether he’ll be traded (to the Wolves, Warriors, Knicks, Rockets, Heat or a number of other possibilities) or stay in Milwaukee at least until this summer.
There are other fish in the sea though, and if the moves we’ve seen recently have taught us anything, it’s that fans should expect the unexpected. Very little is ever certain at the deadline, but given the way the Grizzlies have operated in the past year, it looks like a lock that Ja Morant will be following JJJ out the door within the next day.
Memphis is undergoing a massive rebuild from the ground up, one that was started when they traded Desmond Bane to the Magic this past summer. With Jackson now gone and a war chest of draft picks in tow, keeping Ja just doesn’t make sense.
The Grizzlies front office made out like bandits in procuring a combined seven first-rounders and a pick swap for Bane and JJJ. That being said, they’ll be hard-pressed to get similar value for Ja thanks to his injury history, a continued pattern of knucklehead behavior and his statistical regression this year.
Still, his athleticism and untapped potential could be enticing for a number of teams that need point guard help.
According to NBA insider Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints, “For weeks, the Heat have been attempting to buy low on Morant, much like how the Washington Wizards did with their Trae Young trade with the Atlanta Hawks.”
“While the Young trade did not involve any draft picks, the Grizzlies do want draft compensation for Morant and are widely expected to take the first deal they can involving a first-round pick, sources said. Morant wants Miami, and only Miami, so will a deal get done here?” he pointed out.
Given the fractured relationship between Ja and the Memphis front office that Spiegel meticulously documented, Heat fans shouldn’t count on getting the former Murray State star just yet.
If Miami is hoping to get Ja, who has two more seasons left on his deal after this one, for cheap and someone comes around with a better offer (possibly the point guard-needy Wolves), then the Grizzlies will gladly ship him to the highest bidder.
If nobody comes through with a first-rounder for Ja, Memphis will have to take what it can get, if for no other reason than to fully turn the page on one era and begin another. The Hawks got back CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert for Trae Young, so using that as a comp, what could the Grizzlies hope to get from the Heat for Ja?
Terry Rozier’s expiring contract would be valuable to the rebuilding Grizzlies, and it would help offset the $39 million that Ja is making this year. Miami could also throw in Davion Mitchell since they’d be getting a new point guard.
Mitchell is still just 27, and his presence as an on-ball defender and high-assist guy would help set the tone for Memphis’ upcoming culture shift.
It won’t be long until we find out where Ja ends up. Will it be the Heat, or somewhere else?
