The Ja Morant trade saga is finally over after yesterday, but it still makes sense to look back on how the Grizzlies fared in this deal. While the Grizzlies did not get as much of a return as they did for Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr., the deal on paper looks significantly better than what was originally hoped for. At least Bleacher Report seems to think so.
Bleacher Report just gave out grades for both teams in the deal, giving Portland a B+ and the Grizzlies a B. While the move is an intriguing buy low for the Blazers, let's focus on this deal from the Grizzlies side of things. It wasn't long ago that Ja Morant was an All-Star and even landed on an All-NBA team.
Fast forward to now, and not many fans would've guessed that Morant's trade value would've gotten as low as it did. In a hypothetical scenario that they were to trade Morant at his peak value multiple seasons ago, the Grizzlies would have likely gained significant draft capital in the process. Instead, trading him this summer led to just a player swap, acquiring Jerami Grant and Kris Murray.
The trade went better than expected for the Grizzlies
While that return might not be the most exciting, it is still probably close to the best case for the Grizzlies. Bleacher Report had the following to say about the deal from the Grizzlies' perspective:
"For Memphis, it certainly would've been nice to get any draft capital (even a second-rounder) or a slightly more promising or younger prospect, but some reporting suggested the Grizzlies might've had to attach a pick to Morant to get out from under his deal." - B/R NBA Staff
It would've been an incredible scenario for the Grizzlies if they managed to get a young talent such as Scoot Henderson. However, the Grizzlies were extremely limited with the options they could potentially trade him to, especially considering that multiple potential trade partners were eliminated throughout draft week.
While the deal didn't net the Grizzlies a huge haul compared to something like the Desmond Bane trade, it should still be viewed as an enormous win that the team didn't attach any draft picks. The Grizzlies have significant draft capital for the next 7 years that they didn't have to sacrifice in order to trade Morant's remaining two years and $87 million.
A B is a fair grade for the Grizzlies, but not getting any second-round compensation or a young player understandably lowers the grade. With how weakened Morant's market was, the main positives are being able to fully focus on a promising new core and what the team did not have to give up in the process.
It remains to be seen what Kris Murray's future in Memphis will be, given the fact they have to clear roster space. However, Jerami Grant should be a good temporary solution at small forward who can provide more reliable scoring. The Grizzlies having veterans such as Jerami Grant and Isaiah Stewart around their young core could end up accelerating the rebuild more than expected.
Understandably, many fans are still processing such a big move in franchise history. But luckily, the team got more than what was originally expected leading up to the trade.
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