After yet another terrible and awkward season in Memphis, Ja Morant has made it clear that he's done with the Grizzlies. Once again, the Sacramento Kings are reportedly in the mix for his services. And once again, the Kings need to stay far away from this whole mess.
The problems between Morant and the Grizzlies have been festering for a long time. It recently reached a massive boiling point when Memphis didn't let him participate with the rest of the team in a final game fan event. They straight-up told him he wasn't involved in it, which was a little petty.
Since then, Morant has reportedly made it clear to players around the league as well as the Grizzlies that he wants out. Memphis will try to trade him over the offseason, but it will be difficult at best. They tried trading him at the 2026 deadline, and nothing worked out because the market had changed.
After years of injuries, bad personal decisions, and squandered potential, the NBA has cooled on the player once heralded as the new face of the league. If the inevitable is finally going to happen, the Grizzlies will have to change what they're willing to accept in exchange.
There's only one reason for the Kings to go through with this
One of the teams strongly connected to a Morant trade at the deadline was the Kings. It was all rumors at the time, but a lot of pundits seemed really insistent about them. The same rumors are starting to fly that Sacramento is once again looking at adding Morant to the roster.
This is dangerous at best. There are no real signs that Morant has matured, either in his life or in his game. The hope on the part of the Kings would be that a change of scenery would help him. That's a massive long shot at absolute best, and has a much bigger chance of blowing up in their faces.
The only reason to make the trade would be to swap him for Domantas Sabonis. They both have contracts through 2027-2028, but Morant's salary is a bit lower. Regardless, the minor cost savings are not worth risking what the Kings are building right now. Morant could be a setback to the rebuild.
Even if he doesn't throw the rebuild completely off track, it's hard to see him adding to it. The Kings have already started to build something with their current roster. What they don't need is a rehab project that will eat up time, resources, and focus, only to not re-sign him when his contract is up.
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