Report: Western Conference GM believed Grizzlies would be forced to shop Ja Morant this summer before they fired Taylor Jenkins

Earlier on in the year, long before the Memphis Grizzlies dismissed Taylor Jenkins after he spent five-plus seasons as the team’s head coach, one NBA executive didn’t rule out the possibility of star Ja Morant getting traded in the offseason.

A recent report from ESPN has seemingly corroborated the veracity of what the unnamed executive had to say a while back.

Allegedly, an anonymous general manager for a Western Conference team held the belief that before the team let go of Jenkins, it was going to have to shop Morant in the summer.

“Perhaps most concerning was how Morant was functioning in the offense,” Ramona Shelburne, Tim MacMahon and Michael C. Wright wrote. “Instead of freeing him up in transition and for moments of individual brilliance, the system was effectively taking the ball out of his hands. This season, Morant is averaging career lows in touches, average touch length and dribbles per touch this season. Morant’s 22.4 points per game is his lowest scoring average since 2020-21, his second season, and his field goal percentage (.448) is the worst of his career.

“That didn’t sit well with him, and he voiced his frustrations publicly and privately, sources said. As the Grizzlies spiraled, losing six of eight after the All-Star break, pressure mounted to the point where one Western Conference general manager believed, until the firings, that the team would be forced to shop Morant this summer.”

Morant has been plagued by injuries yet again this season, as he’s suited up in only 45 games so far in the 2024-25 campaign after he was limited to a mere nine appearances in the 2023-24 season. The guard has been in the NBA ever since he was selected by the Grizzlies with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, but he has yet to play in 70-plus games in a single season.

The former Murray State University standout wasn’t a fan of his role in Memphis’ offense this season when Jenkins was leading the way, but he’s seemingly seen his usage rate increase across two games played under the Grizzlies’ interim head coach Tuomas Iisalo. He took 20 or more shots in both of those contests and attempted 23 shots against the Los Angeles Lakers on March 29.

For perspective, Morant is averaging just 17.2 shots from the field per game in his sixth NBA season. That’s his lowest mark since he was in just his sophomore campaign in the league.

While Morant has been more involved from a scoring standpoint of late, that hasn’t resulted in much collective success for Memphis. The Grizzlies are still seeking their first victory since Iisalo took over the team’s coaching reins.

Hopefully, Morant and the Grizzlies can get back in the win column when they take on the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night. Golden State could leapfrog Memphis in the Western Conference standings if it comes out on top, as the Warriors are less than one game back of the Grizzlies.