Just three years ago, the Memphis Grizzlies lost in the Western Conference Semifinals to the eventual champion Golden State Warriors in six games. Despite the elimination, the Grizzlies were seen as one of the most promising situations in the NBA. However, since then, Memphis has not won a playoff series, and multiple coaching and personnel changes have been made.
The Ja Morant era looks set to end in Memphis
Formerly the number two overall pick in the 2019 draft, Ja Morant took the league by storm, winning Rookie of the Year. Morant was also a two-time All-Star and landed on the All-NBA second team in the 2022 season. However, Morant's injury struggles have continued, and he has slumped offensively.
Shams Charania reported that the Grizzlies are finally entertaining trade offers for Ja Morant. Most notably, Charania stated that the Grizzlies would look to prioritize draft capital and young players in any package for Ja Morant. With the overall lack of team success since 2022 and Morant's struggles this season, a trade feels more likely than ever.
Kleiman's retooling efforts have not gone to plan
Last summer, the Grizzlies made the decision to trade fan favorite Desmond Bane to the Orlando Magic. The Grizzlies gained flexibility and used some of the acquired draft capital to trade up for breakout rookie Cedric Coward. The front office felt the need to rebalance the roster around Jaren Jackson Jr. and Ja Morant.
Despite not conducting a full coaching search, the Grizzlies elevated interim head coach Tuomas Iisalo to the full-time head coaching job. After almost 40 games, the sample size is large enough to question Iisalo's fit in the NBA due to his rotation patterns and overall in-game decision-making.
The Grizzlies currently sit at 16-21, which has them as the 10th seed and just 2.5 games above the 11th-seed Dallas Mavericks. Given how loaded the Western Conference is, the Grizzlies were not expected to be contenders going into this season, but they are on track to fall short of making the playoffs.
Despite injuries, questionable coaching decisions and the lack of consistency from Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. this season have also led the Grizzlies to this point.
Trading Ja Morant will likely spark more changes
Despite drafting promising players, such as Cedric Coward and Zach Edey, Zach Kleiman did not adequately surround Morant and Jackson Jr. with enough proven talent after a successful 2022 season. With how promising the Grizzlies looked to start the decade, it is a failure to be closer to a rebuild than winning a championship.
Ja Morant still remains one of the best players in franchise history. His impact on and off the court during his time in Memphis cannot be understated. Ultimately, it is likely best for both parties to move on. However, trading Morant should still raise logical questions about the long-term plan in Memphis.
Given that the Grizzlies were comfortable trading Desmond Bane and likely Ja Morant next, Jaren Jackson Jr.'s future in Memphis is worth monitoring past this season. Getting more assets and shifting to a core centered around Zach Edey and Cedric Coward could give the Grizzlies more long-term flexibility.
Despite a strong start to Zach Kleiman's tenure in Memphis, the Grizzlies' downward trend in recent years could justifiably lead to a change of leadership in the front office. While injuries have factored in, trading Ja Morant would be a pivotal moment in team history and could be the start of more personnel and leadership changes in Memphis.