Ja Morant's breakout season hardly ended the way he or the Memphis Grizzlies imagined.

The league's newly minted Most Improved Player and seventh-place finisher in MVP voting missed his team's last three playoff games with a bone bruise in his right knee. Memphis responded admirably without its best player, sandwiching a Game 5 blowout of the Golden State Warriors between hard-fought losses to a title contender.

Even Steph Curry and the Warriors couldn't help but admit what was obvious after they eliminated the short-handed Grizzlies from the Western Conference Semifinals. Memphis' best days, clearly, lie ahead—especially with Morant poised to be in Grind City for the long haul.

During team exit interviews on Sunday, the 22-year-old superstar confirmed his plans to sign a max-level extension this summer with the Grizzlies:

Grizzlies general manager Zach Kleiman, named Executive of the Year on Friday, had previously hinted that his team would indeed offer Morant a five-year max extension this offseason. Expect Morant to put pen to paper on that deal this summer, cementing himself as the face of basketball's best up-and-coming team.

The only drama regarding Morant's new contract will be its final terms.

He'll sign a five-year pact with Memphis worth an initial $186 million, but that total could increase to nearly $223 million if Morant follows up a surefire All-NBA selection this season with another in 2022-23. The possibility of a player option in the final season of that contract—afforded to Jayson Tatum, Luka Doncic and Trae Young when they inked rookie-max deals—will factor into negotiations, too.

The Grizzlies have a few tough decisions to make before next season. Locking up a star of Morant's singular caliber for as long as possible, obviously, is their easiest one. His choice to keep gritting and grinding with Memphis seems just as straightforward.