Brian Windhorst claims Grizzlies’ Ja Morant has ‘adverse worth’

The Memphis Grizzlies traded Jaren Jackson Jr. in a blockbuster deal on the deadline, however held on to disgruntled guard Ja Morant. In keeping with ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, it is no shock that the out-of-favor Morant is staying put.

On “Get Up,” Windhorst defined that the previous All-Star guard was perceived to have “adverse worth” amongst NBA groups. Which means the Grizzlies not solely could not get a powerful return for Morant, however they’d should throw in draft picks simply to get one other workforce to take him.

Ja Morant’s surprising decline has harm his worth

At his peak, Ja Morant averaged 27.4 factors, received Most Improved Participant and completed seventh in MVP voting in 2022 as his Grizzlies reached the second spherical of the playoffs. Then Morant obtained injured throughout that sequence. Earlier than the subsequent season, Morant signed a five-year extension value $231M.

That is when Morant’s troubles started. He was sued for allegedly assaulting a teen. He and his entourage had a troubling confrontation with the Indiana Pacers. Then Morant was suspended after he went dwell on Instagram holding a gun. Later, Morante drew a 25-game NBA suspension for brandishing a gun in one other video.

Morant returned from suspension in Dec. 2023, however suffered a season-ending shoulder damage in observe three weeks later, after enjoying in 9 video games. He missed 32 video games with varied accidents in 2024-25, whereas his scoring declined from 26.2 to 23.2 factors per sport. Maybe as a result of accidents, Morant hasn’t shot above 31 p.c on three-pointers in 4 seasons, whereas his rebounds and free-throw makes an attempt have declined.