The Memphis Grizzlies organization is on a downward trajectory, that much is clear. After emerging as a premier threat in the Western Conference to start the 2020s, they've gradually fallen until now where wins have become so hard to come by. To start the 2025-26 campaign, the Grizzlies have won just four of their first 13 games — with the team's Ja Morant problem becoming worse and worse by the second.
Morant has been stewing in some discontent for some time now, and he's about to hit rock bottom for his NBA career. He feuded with the coaching staff two weeks ago, earning himself a one-game suspension, and even that hasn't seemed to light a fire underneath him. In fact, his play on the court has not even come close to justifying the difficulties he's been imposing on the Grizzlies franchise.
His scoring efficiency has been rather putrid; he's shooting just 35.2 percent from the field, as his ability to get to the rim and finish once he gets there has declined considerably. He's only 26 years of age, and yet the injury woes he's experienced seem to have taken their toll on him already.
He might be racking up the assist totals, but his turnover numbers have been unseemly as well — turning the ball over eight times against the New York Knicks on Tuesday night.
It will be rather tempting for the Grizzlies to trade away Morant. But here's why they should not do that and focus on trading someone else instead.
Why the Grizzlies should not trade away Ja Morant
For starters, the Grizzlies are committed to building around Morant. Morant is under contract for three more seasons, and the team was built with him in mind. There's a reason why Memphis traded away Desmond Bane, instead choosing to fill the roster with more lower-usage players. They wanted to placate Morant and give him more control of the offense after there were some issues regarding his involvement last season.
Trading Morant away now reeks of panic. That is a move that desperate teams make. While the Grizzlies are certainly feeling some sense of desperation in their trying times, letting go of one of the team's best and most famous players for pennies on the dollar after one bad stretch is an indicator of a lack of stability within the front office.
There is always a chance that Morant is simply sandbagging in hopes of imploring the Grizzlies' brain trust to make another coaching change — this time putting someone he agrees with in charge. There are some who believe that Morant's poor play is his protest of the way the team had been running things. But tangent aside, the Grizzlies will be likely to pursue other changes first before they decide that letting go of their franchise point guard is the way to go.
There's also the matter of Morant's trade value being at or near its lowest. The Grizzlies will at least want Morant to bounce back from his career-worst stretch before shopping him away.
Before trading Morant, the Grizzlies may want to try one last-ditch effort to get the best out of this current core.
Grizzlies try to unlock Morant and Cedric Coward with blockbuster trade
Grizzlies acquire: Domantas Sabonis
Kings acquire: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Santi Aldama, Zach Edey, Vince Williams Jr., top-seven protected 2028 first-round pick
(Trade is only legal from January 15, 2026 onwards.)
Speaking of players with depressed trade value, Domantas Sabonis clearly qualifies as a buy-low candidate on the trade market. Sabonis has found himself being marginalized in the Kings offense, with the additions of Russell Westbrook and Dennis Schroder taking away from what he does best (set up shooters or downhill attackers with dribble handoffs).
The Kings star is at his best when he's being utilized as an offensive hub, but with Sacramento overflowing with ball-handlers, there's simply no room for Sabonis to showcase what he's best as on the offensive end. He's being utilized like he's a more traditional center instead of having him run the offense the way Nikola Jokic and Alperen Sengun do.
Sabonis is set to make $136.4 million over the next three seasons, which is a pretty penny for someone who isn't very featured in his team's offense. This could pave the way for his availability on the trade market — especially with the Kings looking primed for a tank year considering their current trajectory.
If Sabonis were to be available, the Grizzlies should pounce and trade for him. He will cost a lot in a trade, but he should fit what the Grizzlies are doing anyway. He'll make life a lot easier for Morant, setting him up like he did De'Aaron Fox in years past.
Fox thrived in the Sabonis-led offense as the screens he set allowed the rapid point guard to zoom past defenders and thrive in the midrange/close range area. With Morant no longer being the freak of nature he once was, he needs more help than ever to create space when going downhill.
The Grizzlies miss the hard screens that Steven Adams set for the team in the past, and Sabonis should help replicate that kind of bruising play, both in dribble handoffs and on the boards.
Jaren Jackson Jr. needs a strong interior partner in the frontcourt, and Sabonis, a two-time league leader in total rebounds in a single year, fits perfectly.
In this hypothetical trade, the Grizzlies will be trading Kentavious Caldwell-Pope away, creating a starting spot for nascent rookie Cedric Coward, who's been brilliant to start his career. Santi Aldama will also be headed to Sacramento as a much-needed salary-matching piece as well as frontcourt replacement for the departing Sabonis.
The rest of the package is where it gets tricky for the Grizzlies. But trading Zach Edey away for Sabonis, who's only 29 years of age, should be worth it. Edey is already dealing with an ankle injury, which isn't good for his already-limited mobility. His ceiling as a contributor in today's NBA also isn't very high if he's unable to defend spaced-out offenses.
Vince Williams Jr. is a ballhandling wing who could very well break out in a larger role with the Kings. With recent lottery pick Edey being included in the trade, the Grizzlies will only be including one first-round pick, a top-seven protected selection in 2028.
