Ja Morant is making progress in his recovery from a UCL sprain in his left elbow and will be reevaluated in two weeks, the Grizzlies announced (via Twitter).
The team also revealed that Kentavious Caldwell-Pope will undergo a surgical procedure on Thursday to address misalignment of his right pinky finger.
Morant suffered his injury in a January 21 game against Atlanta and hasn’t played since. He continues to experience discomfort in the elbow, according to the team. The point guard has appeared in just 20 games this season and has only been available three times since the start of the new year.
Morant was one of the top names on the trade market heading into the deadline and was reportedly surprised that he didn’t get moved. That was partially due to his lack of availability, as he’s been limited to 79 total games over the past three seasons. His contract also factored in, as teams were reluctant to take on an unreliable player who’s owed $42.4MM and $44.9MM during the next two years.
His productivity has also been declining, which could be related to the injuries. He’s averaging 19.5 points per game this season while shooting career lows of 41% from the field and 23.5% from three-point range.
Memphis is expected to resume its search for a Morant trade this summer, but the return may still be limited, especially if he continues to battle injuries for the rest of the season. The Grizzlies reportedly talked with Miami, Minnesota, Sacramento and Milwaukee about Morant deals prior to the deadline.
Caldwell-Pope has been a mainstay for a team affected all season by injuries, appearing in 51 of Memphis’ first 53 games. The 33-year-old shooting guard, who was acquired from Orlando last summer, is averaging 8.4 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 21.3 minutes per night, mostly as a reserve.
Caldwell-Pope has the team’s second-highest salary at $21,621,500 and he holds a player option for the same amount next season.
The Grizzlies state that a timeline for Caldwell-Pope will be set after the operation is completed, and he’s expected to make a full recovery. Memphis is 20-33 and five-and-a-half games out of the 10th spot in the West, so there’s a chance that Caldwell-Pope won’t return this season.
Anybody that has a hangnail is about to be out for an extended period for some of these teams
If you traded Morant, Pippen Jr and KCP for a good PG prospect, a PG veteran, a backup C and 2nds since nobody offered a 1st then everything would be much better going forward
Memphis would have done well to accept the expiring contracts dreck from Miami if they were offered earlier this month; that deal won’t be there this summer. The Grizzlies and Morant are playing chicken now. Some team will be silly enough to consider extending Morant (and good on him; get paid, make a good life for your kids, all the things) but that team cannot be Memphis. Every day he is on the roster, they will be tempted to extend Morant. Maybe to NO for Murray…? No draft picks of consequence will be exchanged, not unless Memphis waits too long and has to attach its own picks to move off Morant.
Once that drama is settled, KCP and Anderson can be swapped for small piles of magic beans. Jerome might be included in that if he is taking minutes away from Pippen or other guards that need an extended look-see. The rest of this season is a race to the bottom with the other super-tankers.