Why the Grizzlies, Ja Morant parting ways seems inevitable before the NBA trade deadline

The Memphis Grizzlies have been active during this 2026 NBA trade deadline in an attempt to reconfigure the roster and move forward with a younger group of players. The season began with Jaren Jackson Jr. and I Morantand it will probably end with both of them being delisted.

Memphis traded Desmond Bain to the Orlando Magic in the offseason and signaled that they wanted to build around their two stars: Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. By acquiring Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and four first-round picks, the Grizzlies positioned themselves with some assets to improve the roster and a number of intriguing players such as Cihen E. Wales, among others.

But Memphis’ season went downhill quickly. Morant played in 11 of the team’s first 12 games, but that didn’t stop the Grizzlies from starting 4-8 on the season. The Grizzlies guard would go on to play in just nine of the team’s next 37 games before the deadline, simply unable to stay healthy due to numerous, unfortunate injuries.

The Grizzlies continued to fall in the standings despite Jaren Jackson Jr. playing in 45 of the team’s first 48 games of the season, quickly indicating that changes needed to be made.

I Morant Trade Talks

I Morant’s name appeared in trade rumors in November, after a heated exchange with Grizzlies coach Tuomas Iisal in the Grizzlies locker room. Those negotiations have been restarted as the team hit the road to Berlin and London, as the team made it known they were fielding trade offers for the former two-time NBA All-Star.

Morant, sources said, maintained that he never asked to be traded and wanted to stay with the franchise to see it all out. This despite Memphis signaling that they will not offer him the three-year, $178 million contract extension to which he is entitled.

The trade that sent Jaren Jackson Jr. packing to the Utah Jazz on Tuesday afternoon came as a surprise to Morant and the Grizzlies players, one source said, especially given the fact that the big man just signed a new, renegotiated four-year contract with the Grizzlies franchise in July 2025 — seven months ago.

Ja Morant has long insisted that he will not be traded, expressing his desire to remain a part of the Memphis Grizzlies franchise and community. The guard is aware of his struggles to stay healthy and wants a chance to make things better for the team and the city. But Morant also realizes that trading Jaren Jackson Jr. now effectively ends this era for the franchise and signals a rebuild around newer, younger pieces on the roster.

Grizzlies general manager Zach Kleiman has been fielding trade offers for Morant for more than a month, and the asking price for him was higher than with the Hawks for Trae Young. But Memphis isn’t getting offers anywhere near what they’re asking for, and there is increasingly likely never will.

The Grizzlies also are not working with Ja Morant on any trade package, one league source added, and Morant’s team is currently in the dark about trade talks. This is not a collaboration like the James Harden situation with the LA Clippers or Giannis Antetokounmpois with Milwaukee Bucks — if he officially requests a trade.

Morant would like to be in a situation like that Miami Heatfranchise led by Pat Riley and Erik Spoeltra has done its homework on Morant in recent weeks, league sources said. In a perfect world, the Heat would want to trade both Giannis Antetokounmpo and Ja Morant to pair with Bama Adebayo to make a run for the NBA Championship.

But in the last 24 hours, Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints has reported that the Heat don’t trust the Bucks want to take up their trade offer and have since turned to a potential trade for Ja Morant.

The Miami Heat are also said to be open to signing Morant to the three-year, $178 million extension he is eligible for, one source said, if they are able to land him in a trade.

The Minnesota Timberwolves are currently making a strong push for Giannis Antetokounmpo, league sources say, but could turn to Ja Morant if their talks for the Milwaukee Bucks star fall through. The Sacramento Kings, sources say, would accept such a move if it allowed them to shed the contracts of guys like DeMar DeRozan ($24.5 million) and Malik Monk ($18.7 million).