On Wednesday, a report was published by ESPN detailing the opinions of several scouts and executives around the league, who predictably chose to remain unnamed, around All-Star point guards Ja Morant, Trae Young, and LaMelo Ball. The opinions and analyses were overwhelmingly negative and painted the three potential trade candidates in an unflattering light as their respective teams continue their 2025-26 seasons.
Now, Morant has gone on the offensive, with the Grizzlies star firing back at the ESPN article with a post on his Instagram story.
“Strange times out here. Stay woke. Love to da guyz,” he wrote, alongside a blue heart emoji, via HawksMuse on X, formerly Twitter.
Morant has never been shy about keeping his opinions to himself, and his Instagram story comes at what has been a turbulent time for the Memphis Grizzlies. Memphis currently sits several games below .500 and Morant has been in and out of the lineup due to both injury and a suspension that he served for publicly calling out the coaching staff.
Meanwhile, the Atlanta Hawks have been performing well without Trae Young in the lineup due to a torn MCL, igniting trade chatter on that front, and LaMelo Ball recently shot down a report that he was discontent with the Charlotte Hornets amid a rough start to their season.
Overall, Morant, Young, and Ball were once thought to be the next class of superstar point guards in the league, and they still very well could be, considering that they're all still entering or in their primes, and still possess elite talent. However, to say that things haven't gone according to plan for the trio over the last few years would be an understatement.
It remains to be seen whether the Grizzlies, Hawks, or Hornets would ever actually entertain trading their star point guard.
