A recent strange moment during the Memphis Grizzlies “Fan Appreciation Night” made it clear that Ja Morant may be on the way out of the door this summer. Morant has been rumored to be on the trade block since the mid-point of the season. However, no deal was made before the deadline, and he remained on the roster through the second half of the year.
Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson revealed the following about Morant feeling alienated:
“During the team’s ‘Fan Appreciation Night,’ every active player reportedly gave their jersey to a fan as a gesture of gratitude, except for Morant. He just stood there and watched his teammates give away their jerseys,’ an unnamed Grizzlies source shared. ‘Who does that? The writing is on the wall.’
However, a separate team source indicated that the friction might be a two-way street. Morant was reportedly notified just one hour before tip-off that he would not be participating in the giveaway, leaving him without a jersey to provide. ‘He’s unhappy with how he’s being treated,’ a source close to the situation claimed. ‘He feels alienated by the organization.’”
Memphis was the side that prevented Morant from taking part in the team activity to celebrate the fan base. Morant is not out of line for feeling unhappy about this and being treated differently than the rest of the team as the season ends.
Why Memphis Blocked Morant From Participating
The strange aspect of this story revolves around the rationale of Memphis to force Morant out of the team moment with fans. Morant played a massive role in the Grizzlies resurrecting their franchise with an exciting new young superstar.
However, the past few seasons have seen Morant and Memphis’ management clashing on a few occasions. Morant’s injuries and suspensions led to the Grizzlies losing faith in him as a trustworthy building block.
A public moment calling out the coaching staff for his lesser role on the offense this season made Morant an enemy to the Memphis front office. The Grizzlies likely wanted to trade Morant at the deadline, but they only kept him due to no deals being that good with his value so low. Memphis traded Jaren Jackson Jr. at the deadline to make it clear this core is no longer the future.
Teams That Can Acquire Ja Morant
The lack of realistic options at the trade deadline made the Grizzlies opt to figure it out in the offseason. Team hope of more franchises having interest and offering better deals will see Memphis trying to find the right offer this season.
The Miami Heat have stood out among the most exciting teams interested since they’d love to add a superstar point guard. However, Miami also hopes to trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo and could send all their assets for the bigger superstar.
Other squads like the Toronto Raptors, Brooklyn Nets, and Minnesota Timberwolves could get involved in hopes of finding their next franchise point guard. Morant’s time in Memphis is likely done and opposing teams will have the chance to acquire him once the offseason starts.
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