Heat, Timberwolves among Ja Morant’s immediate trade suitors

The The Me Morant Era for the Memphis Grizzlies seems to be coming to an end, but for Miami Heat, Minnesota Timberwolvesor the Sacramento Kings, their Morant era could soon begin.

After a tumultuous last few seasons in Memphis that included suspensions, injuries and public criticism, Morant could be on his way to which the Grizzlies traded sooner rather than later. And if that happens, ClutchPoints’ Brett Siegel pointed to the Kings, Wolves and Heat as possible landing spots.

“Watch Minnesota and Sacramento very closely for Morant,” Siegel published on X, formerly Twitter. “If Miami wants to make an all-in move, this would be it. Those are the three teams that immediately come to mind for a possible Ja Morant trade.”

He followed up the post with another note stating that three teams “previously contacted Memphis earlier this year when Morant tensions with Tuomas Iisal became a headline in the NBA.”

All three teams previously contacted Memphis earlier this year when Morant’s tensions with Tuomas Isalo became headline news in the NBA. https://t.co/LkKs0sIIKSAK

— Brett Siegel (@BrettSiegelNBA) January 9, 2026

The second overall pick in the 2019 draft, Morant immediately shined with the Grizzlies. He won NBA Rookie of the Year in 2020 before winning the league’s MVP award in 2022, the same year he became an All-Star and was named to the All-NBA Second Team. He became an All-Star again the following year, but that’s when he started to get into trouble.

Just days before being named an All-Star, Morant and several others were involved in an incident in which a gun was allegedly pointed at the Indiana Pacers bus. While Morant denied the allegations and the NBA said it could not confirm that the gun was pointed at anyone, Morant was suspended a month later when he was seen brandishing a firearm at a nightclub in a live Instagram video. The suspension lasted eight games, six of which were while Morant was off the team and in a counseling program.

Later in the season, Morant was seen with a gun in another Instagram Live, prompting The NBA suspends Morant for the first 25 games season 2023-24. Due to injuries and suspensions, Morant only played nine games that year. He has played a total of 77 games over the past three seasons, including 18 this year.

Morant is currently in the third year of a five-year, $197 million max contract. He is making $39.4 million this season and is set to bring in $42.2 million and $44.9 million over the next two years before becoming an unrestricted free agent in 2028.

The Grizzlies are currently 16-21 and the 10th seed in the Western Conference, while the Timberwolves are fourth in the West at 25-13 and the Kings are 8-29 and just ahead of the New Orleans Pelicans in the conference. Miami is 20-17 and tied for the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference.