Much has been made of late about the Memphis Grizzlies’ franchise cornerstone Ja Morant, with several critics suggesting that the relationship may be on the verge of breaking down. Several suitors have already emerged, but Bill Simmons has put out a specific yet straightforward trade that the Miami Heat can act upon.
Simmons believes that the two franchises can engage in almost a like-for-like trade between Tyler Herro and Morant.
“It’s Miami and Memphis. You send Ja to Miami. You put KCP in the deal. Memphis takes back Herro and Rozier and you just call it a day. And Memphis basically turns Ja into Herro and Rozier’s expiring. Miami has to take on an extra year of KCP. They get Ja, they roll the dice that Ja can be turned into a superstar again,” he recently said on The Bill Simmons podcast.
Per Simmons, Terry Rozier and Kentavious-Caldwell Pope are also two stars whose futures have been up in the air due to multiple reasons, and could also be swapped as part of the same deal. Further, he referenced Kevin Durant’s exchange with Ja’s dad during the Rockets’ recent win over the Grizzlies.
“I thought the Durant stuff on court that got captured by video last night when he was going back and forth with Ja’s dad and he’s like, ‘Your guy doesn’t even want to be here past the weekend.’ And when the players are talking like that, that tells me this is a wrap,” Simmons concluded, effectively claiming that Morant is likely to be on his way.
Miami has within days emerged as the most-discussed trade destination for Ja Morant. Morant’s on-court upside is clear, but his stock has been comprehensively affected due to the off-court issues.
Regardless, as things stand, the Heat appear to be the most likely destination for the former prodigy.
