Three years ago, Ja Morant declared that he was “fine in the West.” Those comments may have been a bit premature, considering the Memphis Grizzlies have only won two playoff games in the past three seasons. Now it seems that Morant’s tenure with the team may be drawing to an end. If that becomes reality, DeMarcus Cousins believes one trade destination would be a match made in heaven.
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The latest drama surrounding Morant comes from the Grizzlies’ 117-112 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night. The two-time All-Star appeared disengaged in many instances. According to Shams Charania, Grizzlies head coach Tuomas Iisalo challenged Morant’s leadership. Reportedly, Morant’s response wasn’t the most pleasant.
As a result, the team suspended Morant for one game. His comments regarding that game didn’t make things any better. When asked about what happened during the game, Morant’s answer was fairly straightforward. “Go ask them,” Morant said, referring to the coaching staff.
The writing may be on the wall that Morant’s time in Memphis is coming to an end. Although his value isn’t as high as it once was, it doesn’t change the fact that he is a superstar. Cousins made sure to remind the world while defending Morant.
“I don’t want us to get distracted by this moment, and it starts to take away from this kid’s talent and what he’s done in this league,” Cousins said. “The previous game before this, he had 30 points against Phoenix. Now we’re coming into this game and we’re talking about lack of effort.”
Cousins understands how difficult it is to be carry a team lacking talent in the NBA. However, if the Grizzlies will flip-flop in their attitude regarding Morant this quickly, perhaps the time truly has come to move on from this partnership.
“It’s time to move on,” Cousins declared. “The ship has sailed. The Grizzlies have made their decision on who they’re siding with when they suspended Ja.”
Of course, neither Morant nor the Grizzlies has gone public to declare this the end. But if this were to happen, Cousins, along with Chandler Parsons and Lou Williams, revealed their top trade destinations for Morant.
“Two teams that are contenders who have starting point guards who are hurt,” Parsons said. “That’s the Houston Rockets with Fred [VanVleet] out and the Dallas Mavericks with Kyrie [Irving] out.”
Williams is in the same boat as Parsons, except he added the Atlanta Hawks as a dark horse candidate. However, that is completely dependent on whether the Hawks are falling in the standings once the trade deadline comes around.
Cousins had no pushback on his fellow host’s choices. However, they left off one particular team, which the four-time All-Star dreams of landing Morant.
“Minnesota is also in need of a point guard. I think him beside Ant Edwards would be exciting for basketball. I think it would be must-watch TV,” Cousins proclaimed.
The idea of Anthony Edwards and Morant on the same team is certainly a scary sight. Minnesota also has the assets to complete such a trade. They have the necessary young talent in Rob Dillingham, along with either Rudy Gobert or Julius Randle, which will make the money match.
Minnesota has already reached the Western Conference Finals in consecutive years. The addition of Morant could prove to be the missing piece they need to finally get over the hump.
