Grizzlies’ Kleiman: We’re Not Trading Ja Morant
As we relayed on Tuesday, Howard Beck of The Ringer said during a live episode of The Real Ones podcast over the weekend that a team executive told him it’s worth keeping an eye on Grizzlies guard Ja Morant as a possible trade candidate this offseason.
When he shared that tidbit, Beck provided plenty of caveats, making it clear he wasn’t expecting Morant to be on the move this summer. And when we passed it along, I described it as something that seemed like wishful thinking from a rival executive rather than a likely scenario.
Still, it’s gained enough traction on social media in recent days that Grizzlies head of basketball operations Zach Kleiman addressed it directly when asked for comment by Drew Hill of The Daily Memphian (Twitter link).
“I can’t blame other ‘executives’ for fantasizing about us trading Ja,” Kleiman said. “But it’s just that — fantasy. We are not trading Ja.
“Continue to underestimate Ja, this team and this city, and we will let our performance on the floor speak for itself. I’m not going to give this nonsense further oxygen and look forward to getting back to basketball.”
The Grizzlies’ roster will be getting more expensive this offseason with Jaren Jackson Jr. up for lucrative contract extension and a new deal required for restricted free agent Santi Aldama. But the team remains well positioned to retain its core of Morant, Jackson, and Desmond Bane for the long term due to a lack of significant financial commitments around them.
Memphis has especially benefited from locking up several rotation-caliber players to minimum-salary contracts that run through 2027 or 2028, with Vince Williams, Scotty Pippen Jr., GG Jackson, and Jaylen Wells among the players who fit that bill.
It’s worth noting that Morant made some poor off-court decisions earlier in his career, which resulted in a pair of suspensions (including a 25-gamer) in 2023. His production has also declined this season compared to where it was before those suspensions and a shoulder injury that cost him most of 2023/24. He’s averaging 20.7 points and 7.4 assists per game on .447/.321/.810 shooting in 32 outings in ’24/25.
Still, Morant has stayed out of trouble off the court for the last two seasons and his dip in production can be explained at least in part by the careful manner in which the Grizzlies are deploying him — his 28.8 minutes per night are a career low, and the team has a top-five offense without having to rely on its star point guard to post the kind of scoring numbers he did a few seasons ago (27.4 PPG in 2021/22; 26.2 PPG in ’22/23).
In the wake of this month’s shocking Luka Doncic trade, rival executives won’t be inclined to assume that any player is off limits. However, as Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian tweets, Morant is 25 years old, is under contract for three more years beyond this season, and is on a team that ranks second in the West at 36-18, making him the type of player a small-market team typically builds around. By all accounts, it sounds as if that’s still the plan in Memphis.
Nets Expected To Promote Tyrese Martin To Standard Contract
The Nets are expected to finalize a new standard contract with shooting guard Tyrese Martin ahead of Thursday’s game vs. Cleveland, promoting him from his two-way deal to the team’s 15-man roster, sources tell Brian Lewis of The New York Post (Twitter link).
Martin, who will turn 26 next month, has been a fixture in Brooklyn’s rotation for most of this season, averaging 7.8 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.8 assists in 21.0 minutes per game across 36 contests (six starts). He has a shooting line of .391/.338/.719.
Although he has only made 36 appearances, Martin has been active for 50 of the Nets’ 54 games so far this season, reaching the limit for a player on a two-way contract. That means in order to play in any more games for Brooklyn during the season’s final two months, the former second-round pick will need to be elevated to the standard roster.
The Nets have had an open spot on their 15-man roster since buying out Ben Simmons shortly after this month’s trade deadline, so no corresponding move will be necessary in order to accommodate Martin’s promotion.
While the exact terms of the agreement aren’t known, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link) reports that Martin will sign a multiyear contract. Brooklyn could dip into its mid-level exception if it wants to offer a deal longer than two years.
Once the promotion is official, the Nets will have a full 15-man roster but will open up a two-way slot. The deadline for teams to sign players to two-way contracts is March 4.
Raptors Sign Jared Rhoden To 10-Day Contract
The Raptors have filled the open spot on their 15-man roster by signing guard Jared Rhoden to a 10-day contract, the team announced today in a press release.
Rhoden, 25, was in camp with Toronto back in the fall. When the Raptors waived him at the end of the preseason, he was claimed by the Hornets, who converted him to a two-way deal and kept him him on their roster for about six weeks before cutting him in early December.
After appearing in four games for the Hornets and two for their G League affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm, Rhoden has been suiting up for the Raptors 905 since the start of the NBAGL regular season in late December.
The former Seton Hall standout has averaged 15.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.1 steals in 29.4 minutes per game across 18 appearances for Toronto’s G League affiliate. He has knocked down down 50.7% of his shots from the floor, including 41.9% of his three-pointers.
[RELATED: Hoops Rumors’ 10-Day Contract Tracker]
Rhoden, who also has previous NBA experience for Detroit, will earn $119,972 on his 10-day deal, while the Raptors will carry an identical cap hit. The contract will run through next Friday (Feb. 28), covering the club’s first five games out of the All-Star break. Once it expires, the Raptors will have the ability to sign Rhoden to a second 10-day deal if they choose.
Toronto had been carrying an open spot on its 15-man roster since waiving James Wiseman on Feb. 7.
Raptors’ Ulrich Chomche Out For Season With MCL Injury
Raptors center Ulrich Chomche will miss the rest of the season, the team announced today in a press release.
According to the Raptors, Chomche has been diagnosed with a partial proximal MCL tear after injuring his right knee in the third quarter of a G League game last Thursday. He’ll rehab the injury in the hopes of being ready for Summer League in July, per the club.
The 57th overall pick in the 2024 draft, Chomche signed a two-year, two-way contract with the Raptors and entered the season as the youngest player on any NBA roster. The big man, who turned 19 in December, has logged just 32 total minutes across seven NBA games for Toronto, having spent the majority of his rookie year with the Raptors 905 in the G League.
In 33 total outings for the 905, Chomche has averaged 7.1 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 2.9 blocks in 23.8 minutes per game.
Since they used a draft pick on him and signed him to a two-year deal, the Raptors may simply keep Chomche under contract during his recovery in the hopes that he’ll continue developing this summer and warrant a two-way slot again in 2025/26. Still, it’s worth noting that the deadline to sign two-way contracts is March 4, so if Toronto wants to replace him for the home stretch of this season, it would have to be done by that date.
Nets’ Bojan Bogdanovic To Undergo Season-Ending Foot Surgery
Nets forward Bojan Bogdanovic will undergo surgery on his foot, bringing his season to an end, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
Bogdanovic has yet to play a game in 2024/25 after undergoing surgeries on his left foot and his left wrist last spring. He told reporters ahead of training camp in the fall that his wrist had healed but that his recovery from the procedure on his foot required more time.
While Charania doesn’t explicitly say which foot this latest procedure will address, his wording suggests that it will be that left one again, an indication that it didn’t heal as hoped following the initial surgery.
Bogdanovic, who will turn 36 in April, has enjoyed a long, productive NBA career, averaging 15.6 points per game on .460/.394/.859 shooting in 719 regular season games for the Nets, Wizards, Pacers, Jazz, Pistons, and Knicks since 2014.
If he had gotten healthy, the 6’7″ forward – who is on an expiring $19MM contract – would have been viewed as a potential buyout candidate for a lottery-bound Nets team. We can cross his name off that list now though, and it’s increasingly unclear whether he’ll even make it back to the NBA, given his age and his ongoing health issues.
The Nets already have one open spot on their 15-man roster, so there’s no need to make a move with Bogdanovic at this point, but if they do need to create a second opening on the roster before the end of the season, he’s an obvious choice to be waived.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Parts With Agents, Will Rep Himself
Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has parted ways with his agents at Wasserman and will represent himself as he prepares to become extension-eligible this offseason, reports NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter video link).
Gilgeous-Alexander had been represented by Thad Foucher and Joe Smith, per RealGM.
Having made All-NBA teams in both 2023 and 2024, Gilgeous-Alexander has met the performance criteria for a super-max contract and will become eligible to sign that extension with the Thunder this July.
The 2024 MVP runner-up still has two years left on his current deal and can’t exceed six years in total, so the maximum value of his extension would be a projected $293.4MM over four years, beginning in 2027/28.
That projection is based on the cap increasing by the maximum allowable 10% for each of the next three seasons, so it’s possible the final figure will come in a little lower — the deal would start at 35% of the ’27/28 cap and would include 8% raises.
Unlike with Luka Doncic in Dallas, there has been no indication that the Thunder aren’t prepared to put that full super-max offer on the table for Gilgeous-Alexander this summer, which means the negotiation should be fairly straightforward.
While he’ll serve as his own agent as he negotiates that contract with the Thunder, Gilgeous-Alexander will continue to be represented by Simon Gebrelul of Isla Management for marketing and off-court ventures, according to Haynes.
Gilgeous-Alexander is currently the betting favorite to be named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player this season. The 26-year-old guard is averaging a league-leading 32.5 points per game on .523/.359/.897 shooting while also contributing 6.1 assists, 5.1 rebounds, 1.9 steals, and 1.0 block per night for the 44-10 Thunder.
Eastern Notes: Williams, Russell, Suggs, Banchero, Knicks
In an ironic twist, Hornets center Mark Williams is listed as probable to play against the Lakers on Wednesday, Charlotte’s PR department tweets.
Williams would be playing in his first game since the Hornets-Lakers trade was rescinded after he failed to pass Los Angeles’ physical due to “multiple issues.” The probable status is due to “return to play reconditioning.”
The Lakers front office thought it had solved their starting center issue by acquiring Williams. They had agreed to give up rookie wing Dalton Knecht, forward Cam Reddish, an unprotected 2031 first-round pick and a 2030 first-round pick swap. Knecht and Reddish returned to the Lakers along with the draft capital when the team decided to void the deal.
Williams, who has battled injuries throughout his young career, is averaging 16.0 points, 9.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.2 blocks and 0.7 steals per game in 22 contests this season.
We have more Eastern Conference news:
- While the Nets gave all the appearances of tanking earlier this season, their young core isn’t cooperating. They are within range of a play-in spot, trailing the 10th-place Bulls by just 1.5 games. They’ve gotten a boost from D’Angelo Russell in his second stint with the organization. Russell led them to an unlikely postseason berth five years ago and it could happen again, Brian Lewis of the New York Post writes. Russell is averaging 14.5 points and 5.8 assists in 16 games since he was acquired from the Lakers. “Last time it just … kind of happened,” Russell said. “So I think if it’s gonna happen, it will. We definitely have the chance. We definitely have a nice group, definitely have all the coaches and everything to give it that. So we’ll keep preparing like that’s in the plans. But as far as getting ahead of myself and trying to do things out of the ordinary, that’s not really … it’s kind of out of my control, I would say. So [we’ve] just got to go one game at a time, one win at a time.”
- Even with added rest and recovery time, Jalen Suggs is still not 100 percent. Head coach Jamahl Mosley told Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel (Twitter link) on Tuesday that the Magic guard was “able to go through running portions of practice but no contact still.” Suggs missed the last nine games before the All-Star break due to a left quad contusion.
- Expect better results from Paolo Banchero after the All-Star break, Beede opines as he examines five storylines to watch for the remainder of the Magic‘s season. After missing 34 games due to a torn right abdominal muscle, Banchero has averaged 20.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 3.4 turnovers per game while shooting 28.9% from 3-point range over the past 18 contests. Banchero said his main issue after recovering from the injury was getting back into top shape to play with the same energy and effort on a nightly basis.
- The Knicks got good grades on their midseason report card. The New York Post’s Stefan Bondy gives Josh Hart an A-plus, with Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns earning As.
Dennis Smith Jr. Departs Real Madrid, Eyes NBA Return
Dennis Smith Jr. has left Real Madrid with the intent of returning to the NBA this season, league insider Chris Haynes tweets.
Smith signed with Real Madrid in mid-January. According to Ramon Alvarez de Mon of Radio Marca (hat tip to Eurohoops.net), Smith hadn’t adapted well in Madrid. Though the club was satisfied with his attitude, his physical condition reportedly wasn’t up to par. He only made two EuroLeague appearances and wasn’t even included on the team’s roster during the recent Spanish Copa del Rey tournament.
The ninth overall pick in the 2017 draft, Smith has appeared in a total of 326 regular season games for the Mavericks, Knicks, Pistons, Trail Blazers, Hornets, and Nets over the course of seven NBA seasons.
He made 56 appearances last season for Brooklyn, averaging 6.6 points, 3.6 assists, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.2 steals in 18.9 minutes per game, with a shooting line of .435/.294/.741.
Smith signed a G League contract in December, expecting to be claimed by the Austin Spurs. However, the Bucks’ affiliate, the Wisconsin Herd, claimed him instead. He didn’t play in a game for the Herd.
Pacific Notes: Doncic, Lakers Offense, Suns Arena, Durant
With the shock of getting traded wearing off, Luka Doncic is eager to see how this Lakers season will play out. The time off during the All-Star break should have him at full throttle. Doncic averaged only 15 points in his first two games with the club after recovering from a calf injury.
“I think we can go very far,” Doncic said, per Grant Afseth of the Dallas Hoops Journal (Substack link). “Obviously, (last week) I felt a little bit rusty, two games in after my injury—turnovers, missed free throws, so I’ve got to do way better.”
Doncic was encouraged that he had no health-related setbacks after playing two games.
“It’s good. Still getting back in rhythm,” Doncic said. “You can’t really practice that five-on-five stuff. It’s way different in the game, but I’m just happy to be back out there and trying to win and play games.”
We have more from the Pacific Division:
- With Doncic developing chemistry with LeBron James and Austin Reaves, the Lakers should become a top-three offense and aim for home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs, Jovan Buha of The Athletic writes. He notes in that limited sample of back-to-back games against Utah, the Lakers scored 116.7 points per 100 possessions with Doncic on the court, higher than their season average. That could improve to the 120 points per 100 possessions range once Doncic settles in, in Buha’s estimation.
- The Suns’ arena will be called PHX Arena on an interim basis as the naming rights go on the market, John Gambadoro of 98.7FM Phoenix tweets. The arena will be the host site for the 2027 All-Star Game. The franchise ended its naming rights agreement with Footprint.
- Could Kevin Durant finish out his playing career in Europe? The Suns superstar didn’t dismiss the possibility during All-Star weekend. “I play in the NBA, but I also love watching the EuroLeague,” he said, according to Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops.net. “Barcelona would be a great place. Monaco would be nice too. For now, I love Phoenix. I’m staying.”
Durant: No Beef With Warriors, Just Didn’t Want Midseason Trade
Kevin Durant had no interest in being traded anywhere this season and wasn’t simply avoiding a Warriors reunion, he told ESPN’s Malika Andrews (video link).
Golden State reportedly made numerous offers to the Suns for Durant prior to the trade deadline. Durant was “blindsided” that his name came up in trade talks and reportedly didn’t want a second stint with the Warriors. Head coach Steve Kerr said last week that he didn’t blame Durant for that stance.
“He took so much s— for like, ‘Oh, you’re jumping on the bandwagon,'” Kerr said. “And then he’s Finals MVP two years in a row. It’s like he still gets criticized. So why would he want to face all that B.S. again?
However, Durant says his motivation to stay put was about not wanting to be uprooted during the season.
“People talk crazy about me all the time,” Durant said when asked about Kerr’s comments. “That’s not the reason why I didn’t come back. I just didn’t want to get traded midway through the season. It was nothing against my time with the Warriors, or I heard it was because I don’t like Draymond (Green). At the end of the day, I just didn’t want to move. And I wanted to see it through with my team in Phoenix. And see what we can do through the rest of the season, so I’m glad I’m still there.”
The Suns currently sit in 11th place in the Western Conference with a 26-28 record and had a three-game losing streak entering the All-Star break.
“We expect a lot out of ourselves individually and it just hasn’t materialized the way we want it to,” he said. “I know it’s disappointing to see us play this way. Our fans and people watching the game want more from us but you can’t think about it. We’ve got to think about the day ahead of us and trying to get better and figure out how we’re going to win the next game.”
It’s quite possible Durant’s name could come up in trade talks after the season. The 36-year-old forward remains one of the league’s premier players. His current contract runs out after next season.
“You have to ask the front office about that. I never planned on leaving or getting traded,” Durant said about the possibility of getting traded. “I didn’t ask for a trade from Phoenix. But, obviously, when you pay so much for a team and we’re not playing up to our expectation, someone has to go. Probably should check in with those guys in the front office throughout the rest of the season to see how they’re feeling about the team. I know I’m going to try to keep bringing my best every single day. I’ll let the higher-ups focus on what’s next.”
Durant admits he thinks “all the time” about the end of his playing career. However, he still enjoys the grind and isn’t planning to hang up his uniform any time soon.
“I’m still having fun preparing for games, preparing for practices, being a good teammate, being coached,” he said. “I still enjoy all of that stuff. So, I don’t see an end right now.”