As recently as three seasons ago, speedster guard Ja Morant was considered one of the NBA’s best young stars, and his Memphis Grizzlies were considered rising contenders. But now, his stock has fallen considerably, and it is no coincidence that the same could be said about the Grizzlies.
Memphis entered Friday with a 7-12 record, which put them in 10th place in the Western Conference. The team seems to have a relatively low ceiling after some major changes were made over the last couple of years, and now Morant could be on the move.
While there is no real indication that Memphis has any intention of trading him, he has been linked to multiple teams in trade rumors. According to Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints, one new team has come up: the Toronto Raptors.
“One other team those around the NBA are wondering what their ultimate plan is and have been mentioned in connection to Morant by league personnel is the Toronto Raptors,” Siegel wrote.
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Virtually no one expected the Raptors to do much coming into this season, especially since they missed the playoffs in four of the last five seasons. But they’re currently in second place in the Eastern Conference with a 14-5 record, and they could be one prominent ball-handling guard away from doing some real damage in the playoffs.
Their team is built around All-Star-level forwards Scottie Barnes and Brandon Ingram, and while guards Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett have been playing well, Siegel wrote that both backcourt players could be trade bait in order to bring in a legitimate star to give Barnes and Ingram more support.
Toronto is first in fast-break points per game, and perhaps the uber-athletic Morant could fit in well with its offensive ideology. But he isn’t playing up to his standards so far this season. He’s averaging just 17.9 points a game on 35.9% field-goal shooting and 16.7% from 3-point range this season, compared to 23.2 points a game on 45.4% overall shooting and 30.9% from downtown last season.
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Morant is currently out of action with a right calf strain. He has two seasons after this one remaining on his contract at $42.17 million and $44.89 million, which will make trading for him a bit complicated and difficult for any team.
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