From Memphis’ perspective, they were open to trading a two-time All-Star who has averaged 19.5 points and 8.1 assists a game this season. They wanted some value back in any deal.
That’s not how other teams viewed trading for Ja Morant, whose injury and suspension history has limited him to 20 games this season, and he hasn’t played six consecutive games in three years. Throw in the fact that he is owed $87 million over the next two years, and teams were only willing to take him on if it was essentially a salary dump, or if the Grizzlies included a pick, something Jake Fischer wrote about at The Stein Line Newsletter on Substack.
Advertisement
“Memphis’ Ja Morant just didn’t have much a trade market no matter how seriously the Grizzlies explored their options for sending him elsewhere.
“Sources say Sacramento only ever showed modest interest. I’m told Miami, too, only inquired about Morant with the idea of acquiring him in a deal similar to Washington’s asset-light acquisition of Trae Young. And the Heat, sources say, were not actively pursuing Morant in the days leading up to the deadline because Antetokounmpo had become their primary target.”
Morant will be back on the trade market this summer and one option could be a desperate Milwaukee Bucks team looking for a big swing trade that would inspire Giannis Antetokounmpo to sign his extension and stay in Milwaukee.
“One scenario that has to be filed away — for all the justified questions about fit — is the prospect of Milwaukee trading for Morant. Numerous teams came away from the deadline believing that the Bucks’ interest in Morant was genuine … whether that was to install him as their eventual successor to Antetokounmpo as Face of the Franchise or because they believe they could actually make a Giannis-and-Ja pairing work.”
Morant in Milwaukee seems an odd fit, but it’s something to watch. This is going to be a wild summer in the NBA and Morant in a Bucks uniform would not be the craziest thing we will see.
Read the full article here
