The conclusion of the Ja Morant chapter in Memphis

JA MORANT TURNED around and dashed back on defense, intent on thwarting a fast break that appeared inevitable.

With a sudden burst of speed through the lane, Morant closed the gap and leaped off both feet in the baby blue area at FedExForum, his right Nike signature shoe firmly on the dotted line, as the 6-foot-8 Dyson Daniels launched for a two-handed dunk.

Despite being at a five-inch height disadvantage, Morant managed to snatch the ball from behind with his left hand, executing a remarkable chase-down block midway through the third quarter of the Jan. 21 home game against the Atlanta Hawks. Morant leaped so high that his left elbow grazed the corner of the backboard during his fall.

This moment served as a timely reminder of his exceptional ability, showcasing the breathtaking athleticism and competitive spirit that had earned Morant two All-Star selections in previous years. This game also marked Morant’s last appearance in a Memphis Grizzlies uniform for the season, and possibly for good, depending on the offseason strategy of Memphis management.

A few days later, the Grizzlies revealed that Morant had suffered a UCL sprain in his left elbow and would be reevaluated in three weeks, shortly after the Feb. 6 trade deadline. Two months later, amid a fierce competition for lottery positioning, the team declared him out for the remainder of the season due to “lingering discomfort.”

Memphis proceeded with its plan to shift towards a rebuild in the days leading up to the deadline, trading two-time All-Star power forward Jaren Jackson Jr. to the Utah Jazz for a package that included three future first-round picks. This deal mirrored the summer trade that sent shooting guard Desmond Bane to the Orlando Magic, marking the initial step in dismantling a Grizzlies roster that was once viewed as one of the most promising in the league but managed only one playoff series victory with Bane, Jackson, and Morant as the core.

For weeks, the Grizzlies had been actively seeking trade partners for Morant while he was recovering from a calf injury, but despite the efforts of Grizzlies general manager Zach Kleiman, no deals materialized for Morant.

“This is about organizational direction now,” Kleiman stated to the Memphis media during a news conference following the deadline, acknowledging his attempts to trade the franchise’s popular figure. “This is not about Ja in particular.”

Nonetheless, it represents a significant decline for a player like Morant, who was named the NBA’s Most Improved Player at age 22 just four years ago after averaging 27.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 6.7 assists. The Memphis team had won 56 games with the trio of Morant, 23-year-old Bane, and 22-year-old Jackson.

The years following that 2021-22 season have been largely characterized by a seemingly unending series of injuries and incidents involving misconduct by their star, placing both Morant and the Grizzlies at a critical juncture.

After years of unsuccessfully attempting to build around and manage Morant, the Grizzlies require high-value and sought-after players to facilitate their rebuild. Their current challenge is that Morant is neither of those.

“There will certainly be hesitation,” a Western Conference director of pro personnel told ESPN regarding Morant’s value, “but there will be several desperate teams.”

WHEN MORANT SIGNED his five-year, $193 million contract extension in July 2022, it appeared he was poised to be the face of the Grizzlies — and potentially the NBA — for years to come. However, it took less than a year for Morant’s star to begin to dim, as his off-court behavior increasingly raised concerns.

The first incident occurred in January 2023, when there was a confrontation between Morant’s associates and members of the Indiana Pacers’ traveling party. The Pacers claimed that a red laser, likely from a firearm, was directed at them from a vehicle in which Morant was present. This allegation led to an investigation by the league office.

The league’s investigation confirmed that a “postgame situation arose that was confrontational” but “could not corroborate that any individual threatened others with a weapon.” Several individuals, including Morant’s best friend who lived with him, were banned from attending games at FedExForum for the remainder of the season.

Less than two months later, following a March 3 road loss to the Denver Nuggets, Morant playfully displayed a firearm during an Instagram livestream while celebrating shirtless at a Colorado strip club. The league responded by suspending Morant indefinitely. After he traveled to New York to meet with NBA commissioner Adam Silver, who criticized Morant’s behavior as “irresponsible, reckless and potentially very dangerous” in a stern statement, the league decided that the suspension would last eight games.

Then, in mid-May, Morant once again incurred Silver’s ire by brandishing a gun on another Instagram livestream, just days after the second-seeded Memphis team was eliminated from the 2023 playoffs in a five-game series against the Los Angeles Lakers. This resulted in a suspension that kept him out for the first 25 games of the 2023-24 season.

His anticipated return began with promise, as Morant, still just 24, averaged 25.1 points per game while the Grizzlies went 6-3 in his first nine games back. However, he then suffered a shoulder injury in practice that once again curtailed his season.

Since then, Morant has largely avoided off-court issues and maintained a lower profile on social media, but he has not performed at the same level on the court. He averaged 23.2 points in 50 games last season, but opposing coaches and scouts noted a significant decline in his metrics when attacking the paint, an area that had been Morant’s greatest strength at his peak.

Just nine games before the commencement of the 2024-25 playoffs, Memphis surprised the NBA by dismissing longtime head coach Taylor Jenkins, who had led the Grizzlies for six seasons. Earlier in the season, Memphis had shown potential by employing a free-flowing style that emphasized pace and space, featuring fewer pick-and-rolls and dribble handoffs, largely devised by then-assistant Noah LaRoche.

From Jan. 11 to Feb. 11, the Grizzlies recorded a 12-3 record. However, they subsequently lost nine of the 15 games leading up to Jenkins’ dismissal.

Morant, a smaller guard, preferred to operate off screens, and assistant coach Tuomas Iisalo was recognized for his innovative offensive strategies and pick-and-roll schemes. Therefore, the firings of Jenkins and LaRoche indicated that the Grizzlies were aiming to optimize Morant by adopting Iisalo’s concepts.

This synergy did not last long.

One of Iisalo’s philosophical tendencies includes short rotations, which one Western Conference assistant coach indicated takes time for players to adjust to, particularly for a ball-dominant veteran like Morant. The coach noted that the brief shifts hinder a player’s ability to establish a rhythm.

Morant’s frustration grew. Some teammates shared Morant’s views on Iisalo’s substitution patterns, sources reported. The Grizzlies suspended Morant for one game early this season due to what was deemed conduct detrimental to the team following a locker room confrontation with Iisalo after a Halloween night home loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.

In the locker room, Iisalo had called out Morant, who had shot just 3-for-14 in the loss over 31 minutes, for what he considered a lackluster performance. Morant, who had been irritated by Iisalo’s preference for group substitutions after brief minutes, responded dismissively and condescendingly.

The organization’s choice to support Iisalo sent a strong message of backing for the coach and further indicated that Morant’s tenure in Memphis might be approaching its conclusion. Executives around the league had been anticipating that Morant would be available in the trade market since the Grizzlies opted not to engage him in discussions about a contract extension when he became eligible over the summer, especially following the Bane trade, which was viewed at the time as the initial step in a teardown process.

Morant reportedly has not moved past the suspension, according to multiple league sources, as he felt isolated from teammates, who were instructed to give the star guard space to address the issues that led to the suspension. In the aftermath, Morant communicated to players around the league and some of his former coaches that he is no longer playing for Memphis, sources indicated.

If Morant is traded before the start of next season, he will have played only 27 games under Iisalo, including last season’s first-round sweep against the Oklahoma City Thunder, where Morant was injured in Game 3 and missed the series finale. Morant averaged 19.5 points on a career-low 41.0% shooting from the field in 20 games this season, a stark contrast to the 26.8 points on 47.9% shooting he averaged during his two All-Star seasons.

At this juncture, moving Morant is the final task before the teardown process is finalized, as the franchise concentrates on rebuilding, with Iisalo coaching a young roster.

“Ja’s been a pro,” Kleiman stated to Memphis media during his exit interview Monday. “I think everyone is on the same page as much as we can be. I won’t speculate on any potential transactions.”

MORANT PAUSED AS he exited the court following the Grizzlies’ home finale, a 142-126 defeat to the Cleveland Cavaliers that he observed from the bench in street clothes. He clasped his hands in front of his face in a prayer gesture and gazed toward the FedExForum rafters, seemingly taking a moment to bid farewell to the only NBA home he has known.

In the aftermath of the loss, the Grizzlies sent injured players Zach Edey, Jaylen Wells, Scotty Pippen Jr., and Santi Aldama to conduct their season-ending exit interviews with local media members.

Morant was not among those players, nor did he take part in Monday’s exit interviews.

Nonetheless, Morant has expressed a preference to remain in Memphis, despite the franchise’s plans to trade him. He made this clear during his postgame media availability after a Jan. 18 victory over the Orlando Magic in London, where Morant scored 24 points with 13 assists in his return from a two-week absence, the only occasion he has publicly addressed the trade situation.

“I’ve got a logo on my back, so that should tell you exactly where I want to be,” Morant stated, referring to a tattoo of the Grizzlies’ logo on his back.

The reality is that Morant may have little, if any, influence over where he continues his career, and perhaps the Grizzlies will have limited control as well. When superstars are traded, especially those eligible for contract extensions like Morant, teams typically operate based on a list of the player’s preferred destinations. However, this requires a list of interested teams.

In the case of Trae Young, another former All-Star point guard whose star had dimmed, the Washington Wizards emerged as his preferred destination. They also happened to be the only team showing significant interest in him. The Hawks traded Young to Washington for CJ McCollum, who is on an expiring contract, and reserve wing Corey Kispert without including any draft picks in the deal.

This is the type of return that executives around the league consider reasonable in a Morant trade.

League sources informed ESPN that Kleiman engaged in preliminary discussions regarding Morant trades with several teams, but none of those conversations advanced. The star-hungry Sacramento Kings even requested the Grizzlies to “incentivize” the deal by including first-round draft compensation with Morant, sources reported. This quickly ended discussions between the teams.

Sources familiar with the Kings’ perspective suggest that Sacramento could revisit Morant if it does not secure a lead guard with its lottery pick in the draft.

Several executives from other teams surveyed by ESPN believe the Grizzlies should have better luck finding a destination for Morant this summer, with the caveat that Memphis should not expect to receive much value in return.

There is also anticipation around the league that a significant domino effect from a potential Giannis Antetokounmpo trade could clarify the market for Morant. The belief is that teams that miss out on the Milwaukee Bucks’ megastar may then consider taking a chance on Morant at a much lower price point, hoping to rejuvenate his career with a change of environment.

“There will be teams that feel they didn’t get what they wanted in the draft or free agency, and that’s when something could happen for Ja,” a Western Conference executive remarked.

Several executives noted that it is much easier to integrate a player like Morant, who would be an offensive focal point on any team, if he is acquired during the summer rather than in the midst of the season. An Eastern Conference president of basketball operations also pointed out that the timing of the offseason will allow teams to be more thorough in gathering medical information about Morant, bringing him into their program with a baseline of health heading into training camp.

“Maybe I’m naive, but that type of talent doesn’t grow on trees,” a Western executive commented. “Especially if he’s going to a different place and he’s motivated: ‘OK, I’ll show you guys.’ I could see some teams convincing themselves to explore it, at least kicking the tires.”

THE SAN ANTONIO SPURS were in town to face Memphis the night after the Grizzlies announced Morant would miss the rest of the season. It was March 25.

Iisalo had been made available to the media for the first time since the team disclosed Morant’s season-ending status.

In the same news release that updated Morant’s condition, the Grizzlies announced that forward Brandon Clarke would also miss the remainder of the season while recovering from a strained right calf, and revealed that Edey underwent “a procedure to address lingering discomfort in his left elbow.”

Yet no one in that dim interview room, with its bright lights focused on Iisalo, inquired about Morant during the 5-minute-and-39-second news conference.

A statement seemed to have been made in the silence. It felt as though Morant was already gone.

“It feels like it’s been several seasons within one season with the way it has transpired,” Iisalo remarked when asked how the team’s process has adjusted given all the factors at play throughout the season. “In the beginning, we were trying to bring everybody up to speed. It was obviously challenging with many players being out injured. Then after the trade deadline, the team has looked quite different, and the emphasis has been much on the young guys.”

Iisalo responded to a question about Wells, who the team announced five days later would undergo season-ending toe surgery. He continued to discuss Edey and how he possesses “a very unique archetype as a player.”

Iisalo was not asked about Morant until two nights later before Memphis’ fifth consecutive loss. On a night when Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant received the loudest applause at FedExForum during pregame introductions, Iisalo was questioned about Morant’s future and how the guard fits into the team’s plans for developing its young roster.

“He fits really well into it,” Iisalo stated. “He’s one of the guys who can push the break for us. He looks to play the way that we wanted to play. We saw his creation, especially before the injury, picked up all those numbers and everybody knows what he can do in this league.”

Edey watched Memphis’ 119-109 loss to the Rockets that night from the bench in a gray sweatsuit, wearing a black sling over his left elbow.

Morant, meanwhile, was nowhere to be seen inside FedExForum.

Morant was present for the Grizzlies’ home finale, a 16-point defeat against the Cavaliers, played in front of an announced crowd of 16,511.

As he departed the court and made his way to the locker room after the final buzzer, Morant passed by Wells as teammates stood on both sides of the tunnel entrance signing autographs for the remaining fans.

As Morant approached the tunnel, a fan high in the stands caught his attention.

The 26-year-old looked up and raised his arms, using both hands to perhaps offer one last gesture to the fans at FedExForum as a member of the Memphis Grizzlies.

Peace.