Memphis is ready to move on. Per ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, the Grizzlies are actively entertaining trade offers for Ja Morant this summer – and the front office has no plans to reverse course. The challenge: the market is thin.
Morant missed the final months of the 2025-26 season after suffering a UCL sprain in his left elbow on March 24, requiring a platelet-rich plasma injection. He is expected to make a full recovery in time for the 2026-27 season. But the injury history has dampened interest across the league. As one unnamed team executive told ESPN: ‘You just can’t count on him to be available.’
Negative value in a cold market
Windhorst went further, describing Morant as having what the league calls ‘negative value.’ That means teams won’t absorb his remaining contract unless Memphis attaches meaningful draft compensation. In a soft trade market where cap space is at a premium, that’s a significant ask.
Memphis does hold the No. 3 pick in the 2026 draft (June 23). Whether that asset travels with Morant – or stays in Memphis to anchor a rebuild – is one of the defining questions of this offseason.
Where could he land?
Multiple teams have surfaced as potential destinations, including the Chicago Bulls, Phoenix Suns, Brooklyn Nets and Minnesota Timberwolves. Each carries different motivations: Chicago needs a star to rebuild around; Phoenix has cap flexibility; Brooklyn has picks to move; Minnesota could use a playmaking upgrade. None of these conversations have produced a concrete offer, per multiple reports.
For Memphis, the calculus is clear. Morant is 26 – he turns 27 on June 10 – and was averaging 20-plus points before the elbow injury. He is also, per Tim MacMahon and Michael C. Wright of ESPN, ‘the last man standing on a Grizzlies team that hopes to move on from him this summer.’ Trading him now would accelerate a full rebuild, with the No. 3 pick as the cornerstone.
Sources: ESPN (MacMahon/Wright) – Bleacher Report
