All eyes were on the Bucks’ handling of Giannis Antetokounmpo ahead of the 3 p.m. ET NBA trade deadline, but he wasn’t the only All-NBA talent that was reportedly available. Ja Morant’s time with the Grizzlies appears to be running out after a string of off-court incidents and mounting injuries that have kept him from realizing his tantalizing potential. And yet, 3 p.m. has come and gone and Morant remains with Memphis.
Morant is currently sidelined with a UCL injury that will keep him out until at least mid-February. The 26-year-old has played just 20 games so far this season, after being limited to 50 games in 2024–25 and just nine games the year before. Availability has been a concern throughout his career; the 67 games he played as a rookie in 2019–20 remains his highwater mark. The lingering injury issues certainly hurt the chances of the Grizzlies moving off of Morant and the contract that will pay him more than $87 million over the next two seasons.
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ESPN’s Shams Charania reports that while teams were “intrigued” by the two-time All-Star, not one team made Memphis a “serious offer” to trade for him.
The lack of significant interest is not a huge surprise to those following the trade landscape. In mid-January, before Morant’s latest injury, Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix wrote that the Morant market was very small, with the Kings and Heat identified as the most likely candidates to take him on, even with both of those teams being awkward fits for him in their own right.
While his recent struggles have made it clear why teams would be hesitant to make a move for Morant, the idea of him not garnering a “serious offer” when the Grizzlies were ready to trade him would have been shocking just a few seasons ago.
Ja Morant stats, accomplishments
Even when he’s been on the court in 2025–26, Morant hasn’t looked like the same player that received MVP votes earlier in his career. He’s averaging 19.5 points, 8.1 assists and 3.3 rebounds per game, shooting .410/.235/.897. His scoring average is his lowest since 2019–20, his second year in the league, his field goal and three-point percentages are the worst of his career, as is his true shooting percentage of .521. He is also turning the ball over at a higher rate than any year since his rookie campaign.
It wasn’t long ago that Morant was considered one of the brightest young stars in all of basketball. The No. 2 pick in the 2019 NBA draft, he won the Rookie of the Year award to begin his career and took a huge leap between years two and three. That third season in 2021–22 remains his best; he averaged a career-high 27.4 points per game, made his first All-Star Game, was a second-team All-NBA selection and finished seventh in MVP voting. He made his second All-Star Game the following season and was 12th in MVP voting.
He has not received any such accolades since the 2022–23 season and based on Charania’s reporting, the shine is very much off of the young point guard.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as The Trade Deadline Proved Just How Far Ja Morant’s Value Has Fallen.
