Ja Morant stayed in a Memphis Grizzlies uniform past February’s trade deadline, but the silence around him did not last. By the end of a 25-55 season that left Memphis out of the 2026 NBA Playoffs, the gap between Morant and the franchise looked wider than ever.
Morant played in only 20 games in the 2025-26 campaign, averaging 19.5 points, 8.1 assists and 3.3 rebounds while shooting 41.0% from the field, a career-low 23.5% from beyond the arc and 89.7% at the free-throw line. Analysts pointed to a negative value around him, a thin market and concerns about his long-term reliability, even as Morant publicly kept saying he was loyal to Memphis.
The tension showed up in plain sight last Monday during the Grizzlies’ final regular-season home game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Every active player reportedly gave his jersey to a fan except Morant, and a team source said he was told just one hour before tip-off that he would not take part in the giveaway. One unnamed Grizzlies source said he “just stood there and watched his teammates give away their jerseys,” then added, “Who does that? The writing is on the wall.”
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That scene landed because it came after months of questions about Morant’s place in Memphis and what, exactly, the market would bear. The team had little leverage after a season wrecked by losses, and the trade discussion never produced the kind of substantial offers that would have forced a deal in February. Morant, meanwhile, was linked by reports to the Miami Heat as a preferred destination, while the Sacramento Kings and Milwaukee Bucks were among the teams that checked in on his availability.
People close to Morant say the fallout has gone beyond basketball. One source close to the situation said he “feels alienated by the organization” and is “unhappy with how he’s being treated.” Another said Morant “didn’t know who was coming at him until after the deadline,” insisting that “it was painted as if nobody wanted him, but that wasn’t the reality.” That same source said he wants “someone who actually wants him and where he can just play basketball,” and added that he hopes to go somewhere he can prove his worth.
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Recently, Morant’s Memphis-area home was listed for sale at $3.5 million, though a source said he still has two other houses. That does not mean a move is imminent, but it does underline how unsettled his situation has become. For a player who has publicly maintained his loyalty to the franchise, the Grizzlies now face a harder question than whether trade rumors will return: whether this relationship can survive the season that exposed it.
