Late on the evening of February 1, ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania sent out a tweet that sent shockwaves throughout the league—ripples that are still being felt nearly three weeks later. Charania reported that the Dallas Mavericks had traded 25-year-old, five-time All-Star and 2019 Rookie of the Year Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers.
In return, the Mavericks acquired Anthony Davis, a 13-year veteran big man with nine All-Star appearances and five All-NBA team selections.
The unexpected nature of Dončić’s trade put the entire league on notice. If a young, elite talent already considered a Hall of Fame candidate after just six full seasons could be moved so suddenly, no star player was untouchable.
Troubled Grizzlies Star Could Be Next on the Trading Block
Now, NBA correspondent Howard Beck of The Ringer has pointed to another potential trade candidate—at least based on the rumors he has heard. This player, who won Rookie of the Year a year after Dončić, is in the second season of a five-year, $197.2 million contract. Drafted No. 2 overall in 2019, his team currently sits in the second seed in the Western Conference.
That player is 25-year-old Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies. While Morant’s talent and athleticism are undisputed, his availability has raised concerns. Bleacher Report noted that Morant is “reaching a point where he is expensive relative to the amount of games he plays.”
During his rookie season, Morant played in 67 games, but injuries and suspensions have since limited his availability. He has not played more than 63 games in a season since, and of the 445 regular-season games the Grizzlies have played in his career, he has appeared in only 289—just 65 percent.
“You are always, always, always on the lookout for who’s the next wave of stars that are going to get dealt. Right. We just saw shock of all shocks, the Luka deal,” Beck said on The Ringer podcast Real Ones. “We saw Jimmy Butler. There’s already whispers once again about Giannis and somebody out of the blue said, ‘Keep an eye on Ja this summer.’”
A History of Controversy
When discussing Morant as a potential trade piece, Beck pointed to his off-court history.
“Ja’s obviously had some issues. It’s—everything’s been fine for a while here, so not to overplay stuff from a year and a half, two years ago, but at a certain point teams will pivot, and there’s always—for everything we know publicly—there’s always a little bit that’s going on below the surface too,” Beck explained.
Morant started the 2023-24 NBA season by serving a 25-game suspension for brandishing a gun in a video posted to Instagram Live. This came after an earlier eight-game suspension for a similar incident in which he displayed a firearm in an online video taken at a strip club.
In 2023, The Washington Post reported that Morant had punched a 17-year-old in the head during a pickup basketball game at his home, leaving the teen with “a large knot.” The teen also told police that Morant later emerged from his house with a gun tucked into his waistband.
“I’m not saying (a trade is) going to happen. I’m not saying it should happen,” Beck clarified. “I’m just saying it’s one of those things I’m just kind of keeping an eye on if they were to flame out early.”
