The Memphis Grizzlies will pick third in the upcoming draft, have already traded most of their previous core, and are increasingly open to serious Ja Morant offers this summer. The pivot isn’t complete until Morant is someone else’s point guard.
The Triggering Signal – Why This Report Carries Weight Right Now
Thw Bleacher Report package rankings draw on league salary architecture, competitive context, and the specific contract terms that govern what each team can actually execute – and his framing is notably unsentimental about Morant’s current market position. As Hughes writes, the trade deadline market was “frigid,” and Morant “didn’t suit up after the break.” That is not a negotiating posture from a contender resting its star. That is a franchise signaling to rival front offices that the Morant era is functionally over.
The timing matters. In February 2024, GM Zach Kleiman publicly stated the Grizzlies had “zero interest” in trading Morant and were “building around” him. That stance has since softened dramatically, with multiple outlets now characterizing Memphis as actively listening to offers. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst has hedged – saying he hasn’t heard Morant is officially on the market – but Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic has reported the Minnesota Timberwolves have “checked in” on Morant as they search for a true point guard next to Anthony Edwards. The gap between “listening” and “shopping” is closing fast, and the draft is the pressure point.
For context on how the broader star-trade market is moving this offseason, Marc Stein’s reporting on the Giannis Antetokounmpo pursuit shows just how aggressively teams are positioning themselves around elite players right now – and Morant, even diminished, still fits that conversation.
Why the Move Makes Sense – The Basketball and Financial Logic
Here is where the numbers make the argument. Morant is owed $87 million over two seasons – a figure that HoopsHype’s trade-value rankings still placed in the top five of the entire NBA in early 2025, underscoring the combination of elite ceiling and massive financial exposure for any acquiring team. When healthy and locked in, Morant averaged 27.4 points, 6.7 assists and 5.7 rebounds in 2021–22 and made All-NBA Second Team. Memphis went 6–3 in his brief 2023–24 return before the labrum ended his season after nine games. That ceiling is real. The durability and character questions are also real.
For acquiring teams, the fantasy and futures implications are significant. A healthy Morant landing in Phoenix next to Devin Booker – a team that Hughes notes “defended like a swarm of angry hornets” but lacked a proven point guard – would immediately reset the Suns’ title odds and vault Morant back into top-20 fantasy ADP territory after a draft-season freefall. A Minnesota landing would do similar things for his assist and usage numbers next to Edwards, though his shooting limitations create lineup complications. Fantasy managers should monitor Morant’s destination closely before locking in late-round upside picks – his value swings by roughly 30 ADP spots depending on fit.
\p>The same destination-analysis framework applied to Giannis Antetokounmpo’s trade odds applies here: the landing spot doesn’t just affect one player’s value – it reshapes an entire franchise’s betting line and fantasy ecosystem overnight.
Package Rankings – How Each Deal Stacks Up for Memphis
Phoenix Suns (Ranked No. 1): Hughes tops his list with a straight swap – Morant for Jalen Green – and the logic is genuinely compelling from Memphis’s perspective. Green is entering his age-24 season and will cost approximately $15 million less than Morant over the remaining two contract years. He missed 50 games last season with hamstring issues but played all 82 contests in each of the two prior years. If Green’s efficiency takes another step forward, he could objectively outproduce Morant over the next two seasons. The Grizzlies get a younger, cheaper, high-upside scorer at the 2. Probability assessment: 55/45 in favor of Memphis relative to alternatives. This is the cleanest deal on the board.
Miami Heat (Ranked No. 2): A one-for-one swap – Morant for Tyler Herro – with a critical calendar constraint attached. Hughes notes the deal must be executed before July 1 to work under salary cap rules; the Heat absorb too much money if it crosses into the 2025–26 league year. Herro’s deal expires a year sooner than Morant’s and would save Memphis $9.2 million in 2026–27 salary. The Heat’s track record of rehabilitating distressed assets is real – this would not be the first time a troubled star found a career second act in Miami. Probability: 50/50, heavily dependent on the July 1 deadline being met. If that window closes, this deal likely dies.
Minnesota Timberwolves (Ranked No. 3): Randle and Donte DiVincenzo – who will miss all of next season on an expiring salary – head to Memphis. Hughes frames this as the best offer Minnesota should make, not necessarily the best offer Memphis will receive. The Wolves failed to reach a third straight Western Conference Finals and need a shot-creator who can ease the burden on Edwards. Morant’s downhill playmaking fits the theoretical need. His poor spacing and shooting at the guard spot is probably more damaging than Randle’s inconsistencies were, but slotting Naz Reid into the starting lineup partially offsets that. Probability: 45/55 against. Minnesota has real incentive but legitimate reasons for caution.
Chicago Bulls (Ranked No. 4): This one involves Memphis absorbing a toll – Patrick Williams (three years, $54 million), Jalen Smith, Rob Dillingham, and a swap of the No. 3 for the No. 4 pick. The logic only works if Memphis views Cam Boozer and Caleb Wilson as interchangeable at those slots, in which case they’re breaking one bad contract into several smaller ones, some of which might flip into assets at the next deadline. The Bulls are just entering a proper rebuild and may have zero interest in Morant at all. Probability: 35/65 against. This is the most structurally complex deal and requires Memphis to accept genuine pain to move the contract.
Sacramento Kings (Ranked No. 5): DeMar DeRozan, De’Andre Hunter, and a 2030 first-round pick (top-10 protected, via Minnesota) go to Memphis. Hughes is blunt about the Kings’ pattern here – Sacramento has “turned transactional mistakes and misguided big-name hunting into an art form.” The Kings pick seventh in the draft and could be targeting a significant offseason trade move rather than banking on a lottery pick. But the protected first is barely an asset, and Hughes notes Sacramento could probably get this done without even including it based on the deadline market. Probability: 40/60 against. The Kings are a suitor of last resort, not a preferred outcome for Memphis.
The Complication – Honest Pushback on a Trade That Could Still Fall Apart
Here’s the honest pushback: Memphis’s reported asking price – at least one first-round pick plus a quality young player, according to multiple league sources – is being viewed as aggressive by rival executives given Morant’s off-court history and injury profile. Two high-profile suspensions in 2023, followed by a labrum tear that cost him most of his last season, have collapsed his leverage in ways that don’t simply reset with the passage of time.
The five packages Hughes ranks reinforce this reality. None of them deliver the unprotected first-round capital Memphis reportedly wants. The best realistic return – Green from Phoenix – involves taking on a player with his own injury history at a position the Grizzlies don’t desperately need. The Heat deal has a hard expiration date. The Wolves package includes a player (DiVincenzo) who won’t suit up next season. The market depth is genuinely shallow.
What the pushback does not resolve: Morant averaged 27.4 points in his last healthy full season and was 25 years old when the labrum tear ended his 2023–24 campaign. The talent hasn’t evaporated. The right situation – specifically Phoenix’s spacing-heavy environment or Miami’s player development infrastructure – could still make him a net-positive asset. Memphis can afford patience. The clock on his contract, not competitive urgency, is their real enemy.
What Happens Next – The Checkpoints That Convert Rumor Into Reality
- Watch for Memphis’s No. 3 pick selection. If the Grizzlies take a lead guard at third overall, it is a direct signal they are ready to move Morant immediately. If they take a big or wing, the timeline extends into the 2025–26 season.
- Watch for Adrian Wojnarowski or Shams Charania reporting that a specific team has submitted a formal offer or that Memphis has granted permission for player-to-team contact. Either development converts this from speculative rankings into live negotiation.
- Watch the July 1 deadline specifically for Miami. If the Heat-Grizzlies structure hasn’t been reported as agreed upon before the league year flips, that deal is almost certainly dead. If it happens, expect confirmation within 48 hours of the deadline.
- Watch Phoenix’s offseason roster moves. If the Suns add shooters and prioritize point guard acquisition in free agency, the Green-for-Morant swap becomes less necessary. If they don’t address the playmaking void, expect Suns-Grizzlies talks to intensify by October.
If Morant returns healthy in training camp and posts strong early-season numbers, expect his trade value to spike and a second wave of package conversations to hit around the February 2026 deadline – at that point with only one year remaining on his contract, the math shifts in Memphis’s favor.
Bottom Line
What is confirmed: Morant has two years and $87 million remaining on his contract, the Grizzlies have traded most of their previous core, and the deadline market was cold enough that he didn’t suit up after the break. What is not confirmed: any specific team has submitted a formal trade offer, and Memphis has not publicly acknowledged it is shopping him.
The single variable that determines everything is the No. 3 pick. Who Memphis selects on draft night will tell the league exactly how urgently the front office needs to move Morant – and how much leverage it is willing to surrender to get it done. For the latest on Ja Morant, the Memphis Grizzlies, and the full NBA trade market, keep it locked to Sportscasting.com.
