Following a six-game absence due to a right calf injury, Ja Morant returned to action on Sunday and delivered one of his best performances of the season in the Grizzlies‘ 126-109 victory over the Magic in London.
According to Damichael Cole of the Memphis Commercial Appeal, Morant became the first player in franchise history to record 20 points and 10 assists in the first half of a game. He ultimately finished with 24 points and 13 assists in just 28 minutes of action.
Given the public trade rumors swirling around Morant, the performance left some wondering how the game could impact his perceived trade value around the league, but the guard made a point after the game to emphasize his desire to stay in Memphis, Marc Stein writes for The Stein Line (Substack link).
“I’m a very loyal guy,” Morant said. “I got a (Grizzlies) logo on my back, so that should tell you exactly where I want to be,” he added, referencing a tattoo of the Grizzlies bear on his back.
As Stein writes, Memphis has been willing to listen to offers on Morant due to the fact that impressive outings like Sunday’s have been rarer in recent years. Morant hasn’t played seven consecutive games since the 2022/23 season, and the injuries have seemingly taken a toll on his game. He is getting to the rim at the lowest rate of his career, while simultaneously having his worst shooting season as a pro.
However, Stein also notes that the team seems to have had a real bonding experience during this in-season trip abroad, saying that Morant was “at the heart of all the good vibes.”
In a final update on Morant, Stein reports that the Heat, whose interest in the two-time All-Star had been previously reported as “tepid,” aren’t interested in making a trade that would eat into the assets they could offer in a potential Giannis Antetokounmpo deal. Miami believes itself to be a real threat to land the Bucks star if he asks for a trade and doesn’t want to compromise its position on that front.
Of course last week he said the exact opposite so…
He’s trying to get the coach fired.
Hope to see Ja Stay. It can be repaired with sone wins!
The Heat have been trying to keep themselves in position for Giannis for the past how many years now?
Miami team culture and city lifestyle are the perfect environment to fix ja
The heat and warriors have been doing it since after the bubble playoffs
What’s the best package Miami can get Giannis with? Heat-experts, weigh in:
I don’t think the heat or warriors have enough to get him unless he says “trade me to _____.” Both have a mix of tradeable mid tier talent and draft picks but nothing crazy. Miami’s biggest advantage over GSW is the age of Steph Curry and no state taxes…. And maybe being in a closer time zone to home. That’s about it.
Ja is being painted out to be the bad guy. He is easily their best player over in Memphis, I understand he has missed a lot of games but I don’t see how you don’t try build around him just a little. Think about it over the years they have lost Bane, Brooks, Adam’s and so on. They’ve done well drafting in young guys but they aren’t exactly building anything.
Prime Morant is the best player on that roster, but you are forgetting Jaren Jackson (who they will either build around or trade)
Ja is starting to not fit on many rosters anymore, kind of like Trae young or Russ westbrook where the shorter ball-dominant guys are being outplayed by taller point guards
He’s been acting like a childish idiot behind the scenes for years
Now his play and health slipped
He’s been too pampered
Yeah, the whole thing is strange. Ja has done plenty of dumb things and needs to be accountable for those actions. But what the heck was the team thinking when the front office went out and hired its coach-in-waiting while Taylor Jenkins was still under contract? And what were they thinking when they implemented a new offense that did not feature Ja? A big part of this mess is on the FO.
Hard to trade him and his dad… even harder to get a player to come to Memphis in a trade
Imo it’s best to move on from Morant. Just can’t give him away. At 26 he still has a lot of balling in him. I would build around JJJr. Grizz have some good young talent. There is a good deal out there for Morant. Forget the Heat. They can dream about Giannis all they want.
FVV and DFS and some picks for Morant? Think for a moment about how that roster would look with Morant. Just spitballing.
He was amazing today, and I hope all the people predicting his decline are wrong, but sadly I don’t think they are. 1 Great game doesn’t change the injury history or behaviour problems, and the chances are that over a large enough sample size his shooting % will revert to the mean. Not a hater, just being realistic…