The Memphis Grizzlies have doubled and tripled down on youth for the last six seasons, despite developing a team ready to contend for a championship. Instead of utilizing their assets for a known star that might not fit their timeline of young stars, they tried to force them to grow up quicker than normal.
ESPN's Shams Charania reported that Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo is open-minded about exploring a potential move to a team that better fits his timeline of winning another championship. He has spent his first 12 NBA seasons in Milwaukee and won a championship in 2021, but the team hasn't made it out of the first round since 2022.
Memphis and Giannis seem to have what each other wants, so the Grizzlies should explore if the two-time MVP would welcome a trade to pair with Ja Morant.
The Grizzlies must consider all options in a deal for Giannis
Coming off a disappointing end to their season that saw them drop from the two seed to the eight seed in two months, the Memphis Grizzlies have had to do a lot of soul searching. The lasting image of their season is the 29-point blown lead to the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 3 of their first-round series at home after Ja Morant left the game with a hip injury.
The bad taste stemmed from the ineffectiveness of their other core players, Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr., inability to close out that game. The Bane-Jackson Jr. duo combined to average 31.3 points in their series sweep loss to the Thunder, and should have the team considering all options to support Morant this offseason.
It has been questioned if Ja Morant can be the best player on a championship team with his size and style of play, which would make looking into adding Giannis feasible to think about. Giannis would immediately be the best player on the Grizzlies and make Ja Morant into arguably the best second option in the NBA.
Also, the Grizzlies have a package that could intrigue Milwaukee with the potential of adding either of Bane or Jackson Jr., or both players, along with picks and young players the Grizzlies house. The fit of Giannis and Ja could be questioned due to both players' inability to consistently shoot from the perimeter, but surrounding those two with shooters would be the next step in completing the roster.
The Grizzlies might have an opportunity to make the biggest move in their franchise's history, and they should absolutely pursue it if the opportunity does present itself.