Rumors Are Swirling Around NBA Circles That We May Have Another Luka-Sized Trade Coming, This Time With The Grizzlies and Ja Morant

Glenn James. Getty Images.

You often hear how at times, the NBA can operate as a copycat league. For example, when a team wins a title playing a certain way or with a certain roster build, naturally you start to see a lot of other teams in the league try and replicate it. That's something that has stood the test of time in NBA history and at this point is fairly common given that we've seen that approach in every era of NBA basketball.

Coaches steal plays from other coaches, players steal moves from other players, it's all part of the gig.

Given what took place just over two weeks ago with the Luka Doncic trade, it does make you wonder if we might now see front offices and organizations follow that same path, especially if a specific team isn't thrilled about paying a franchise player big time money moving forward. How teams are operating under this current CBA is all new, and just like everything else in the NBA there's something to be said about a precedent being set while playing under this set of rules.

There were a lot of inane parts of the Luka trade, but aside from the basketball stuff, what it did was put every single crazy trade idea/hypothetical on the table. Before the Luka trade, you could disregard pretty much all rumors involving big time players because one would think logic and common sense would prevail. But now? There is not a trade that is "too crazy" or "would never happen in a million years". If Luka can get traded at 25, then anything is possible.

Why do I bring that up? Because if you listen to those plugged in with NBA circles, there are already rumblings that we might have our next Luka Doncic trade situation on our hands depending on how the rest of this year plays out

“I'm constantly checking in with executives around trade deadline about like, okay, what we saw, what we didn't see, what's next, and in this league, you are always on the lookout for who's the next wave of stars that are going to get dealt, right?… Somebody out of the blue said, keep an eye on Ja [Morant] this summer… 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.”

I know, on the surface, this feels insane. But again, so did the Luka trade. So take that part out of the equation and what are we looking at?

As with everything, including the Luka trade, start at the money. Things are a little different with Ja and his situation given that he's not eligible to sign a supermax, and is instead in Year 2 of his 5/197M extension

So it's not as if the Grizzlies have to get ahead of things and move Morant early instead of offering him a $300M+ contract this summer. From a financial standpoint, they're locked in. 

If Ja's contract isn't a motivating factor like it was for DAL, then why would the Grizzlies do something like this? I think this is where the new CBA comes into play. Remember, the Grizzlies still need to extend JJJ. They just gave Morant and Bane $190M extensions these last few years, and given how JJJ is playing this season I think it's fair to suggest he has a good shot at making one of the All NBA teams. Should he do that, he then becomes supermax eligible and can get a 5/345M extension this summer.

Advertisement

Is it possible that should the Grizzlies not make a deep run this postseason, the organization wouldn't exactly love paying Ja, Bane, and JJJ all max/supermax deals? 

Which brings us back to this Morant angle. Why would the Grizzlies ever consider trading away their 25 year old franchise point guard? Again, if the Grizzlies flame out early and they need to pay JJJ a supermax, it's entirely possible that the Grizzlies shift their focus to building around Bane/JJJ and move Ja. To be getting that type of money and having some pretty major availability issues is something that all teams are going to have to consider in this new CBA world

At this rate, the Grizzlies are only getting around 57-60 games of Morant a year (when he doesn't get suspended). This is certainly not a question of talent, as Ja Morant is one of the best guards in the league when healthy and on the floor

but the same was true with the Luka trade. It's not about his talent, it's about the cost. My guess is the Grizzlies GM would call more than 1 other team to gauge the interest on a Morant package, and given that he's still signed long term that does change his value on the open market. 

What if the Grizzlies end up facing the Warriors in Round 1 and lose? What if it's the Nuggets in Round 2? I guess my point is that while on the surface a Ja Morant trade seems insane, given what we've witnessed these last few weeks combined with the realities of the new CBA, it's not entirely out of the realm of possibility.

I would say the same is true for all big salaried players on contending teams moving forward as well. The different aprons make things such a challenge in terms of roster construction and what you're able to do, it's not crazy to think a team sheds the massive salary of a young star player who isn't really available all while the team underachieves. I think we're going to start seeing it more and more, especially now that the Luka trade happened. 

Advertisement

The top of the West was already going to be must watch stuff as we head down the home stretch of the regular season and then into the playoffs, but if you're now telling me we have a potential Ja Morant trade on the table depending on how the Grizzlies do this Spring? Well that certainly adds even more juice to what should be a very entertaining next few months.