Ja Morant deserves a fresh start as the Memphis Grizzlies eye the possibility of big offseason changes.
After a truly disastrous end to their season, the Memphis Grizzlies are eyeing some big changes heading into the offseason. It's been rumored for weeks, and Grizzlies general manager Zach Kleiman all but confirmed that during an end-of-the-season press conference. The big question for Memphis is whether any of these changes will revolve around Ja Morant.
Interestingly enough, the Morant trade whispers have already started. Since the Grizzlies were swept out of the NBA Playoffs, there have been several reports that have given the indication that Memphis may be open to trading Morant this offseason. The trade whispers have gotten so loud that they may have reached Morant.
It's not confirmed, but shortly after the whispers began to gain traction over the last couple of days of the possibility of a Morant trade, he went to X (formerly known as Twitter) to offer a cryptic message.
Again, there's no guarantee that Morant sent this message in direct response to the rumors that were beginning to take off, but it would be one huge coincidence if the two weren't related to each other. Nevertheless, it only proves the point that both sides may be ready to move on.
The complicated market of Ja Morant
Even though there's not much of a debate about how great of a player Morant is, when he's healthy and engaged, I do believe that his trade market could be quite complicated. Because of his past and the way he's played over the past two seasons, there could be some hesitation from teams to go all-in for the All-Star guard.
At 25 years old, the belief is that Morant's best years are still in front of him, but it's also fair to say that he's regressed to a certain extent over the past two years. At least to some, they could come to the conclusion that he may have already peaked as a player. And if that is the case, trading for him would be a huge gamble. In the end, that could go a long way in complicating his trade value across the league.
Either way, if the Grizzlies have any hesitation about whether Morant can be considered the franchise cornerstone moving forward, that's the moment that both sides deserve a fresh start. If the Grizzlies have lost hope in Morant, Morant deserves a fresh start on a franchise that fully believes in him. Similarly, if the Grizzlies are open to a trade of Morant, that means they've already gotten to that point mentally.
The best move would be to proceed with a potential trade at some point soon. As the trade whispers continue to grow, it's no guarantee that the Grizzlies will trade Morant, but it does seem as if the option is at least on the table. To be perfectly honest, it may be in the best interest of both sides to find a resolution this summer.