- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,128,492
- Reaction score
- 59
Well, Ja Morant did watch the Phoenix Suns defeat the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Play-In Tournament from a suite at Mortgage Matchup Center.
ESPN NBA Insider Ben Golliver proposed the Suns trade Royce O’Neale, Grayson Allen, Haywood Highsmith, Jamaree Bouyea and two future second-round picks (2029, 2032) for the talented Memphis Grizzlies star guard who has had his share of troubles and injuries in recent years.
“Memphis can't begin its next chapter until it finds a taker for Morant, whose value has been damaged by multiple off-court incidents and chronic injuries,” wrote Golliver, a recent ESPN hire. “Morant has two years and $87 million remaining on his contract, so an ambitious team stuck in the middle of the pack, such as Phoenix, could talk itself into giving him a chance."
Morant played his first four seasons in Memphis with Suns forward Dillon Brooks.
“In this scenario, the Suns would install Morant as point guard, move Devin Booker back to his natural scoring guard role and shift Jalen Green into a tertiary role," Golliver continued. "That's a decent amount of highlight-reel potential for a Suns team that lost in the play-in tournament and doesn't have a clear path to joining the Western Conference's elite.”
The Suns have said they’re looking to stand pat for the most part after winning 45 games and losing to defending NBA champion Oklahoma City in the first round of the 2026 playoffs as an eighth seed, but Morant was once viewed as one of the league’s best players.
He’s coming off a 20-game season in which he averaged 19.5 points, 8.1 assists to 3.6 turnovers and shot a career-low 23.7% from 3. Morant posted 28 points, eight rebounds and seven assists with six turnovers in leading Memphis past the Suns, 114-113, Oct. 29 in Phoenix.
Playing 32 minutes in his only game against the Suns this season, Morant hit a game-winning jumper with 7.6 seconds left.
The Grizzlies suspended Morant for one game last November for “conduct detrimental to the team.” The 2019-20 NBA Rookie of the Year had a verbal exchange with head coach Tuomas Iisalo after a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.
“The Suns overachieved last season, and they now are faced with the choice of relying on the same roster or making an aggressive trade for a player such as Morant,” ESPN’s Bobby Marks wrote. "Because the Suns would be taking back more salary in the trade, it would hard cap them at the first apron. The restriction could put them in a position to lose free agents Collin Gillespie, Mark Williams and Jordan Goodwin.”
Gillespie and Goodwin are unrestricted free agents, while Williams is a restricted free agent.
“The Grizzlies already had entered the rebuilding phase of their roster, and they now do it without the former face of the franchise, Morant,” Marks wrote. “In taking back Allen and O'Neale, the Grizzlies save $25 million in salary for 2027-28. They also increase their future second-round picks to eight.”
O’Neale and Allen have each played their past three seasons in Phoenix.
Allen averaged a career-high 16.5 points this season, but he played just 51 games in the regular season due to multiple injuries.
The 6-foot-4 guard spent two seasons with the Grizzlies (2019-21).
O’Neale, a veteran 6-foot-8 forward, missed just four games in averaging a career-high 9.8 points and shooting a career-best 40.8% from 3 this season after making 40.6% of his 3s in 2024-25.
The Suns signed Bouyea to a two-way deal in November and upgraded that to a standard contract in March, and added Highsmith after the trade deadline.
A 6-foot-2 guard, Bouyea averaged 5.7 points in 46 games, while Highsmith contributed 5.4 points a game in seven games.
Morant received a 25-game suspension to begin the 2023-24 season after an NBA investigation because of conduct detrimental to the league.
The two-time All-Star brandished a firearm in a video on social media that led to the Grizzlies suspending him from team activities in May of 2023.
The NBA suspended Morant eight games in March of that year when he was seen on Instagram Live holding a handgun while intoxicated at a nightclub in the Denver area.
Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at [email protected] or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.
Support local journalism. Start your online subscription.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: What the Phoenix Suns would risk in a trade for Ja Morant
Continue reading...
ESPN NBA Insider Ben Golliver proposed the Suns trade Royce O’Neale, Grayson Allen, Haywood Highsmith, Jamaree Bouyea and two future second-round picks (2029, 2032) for the talented Memphis Grizzlies star guard who has had his share of troubles and injuries in recent years.
“Memphis can't begin its next chapter until it finds a taker for Morant, whose value has been damaged by multiple off-court incidents and chronic injuries,” wrote Golliver, a recent ESPN hire. “Morant has two years and $87 million remaining on his contract, so an ambitious team stuck in the middle of the pack, such as Phoenix, could talk itself into giving him a chance."
Morant played his first four seasons in Memphis with Suns forward Dillon Brooks.
“In this scenario, the Suns would install Morant as point guard, move Devin Booker back to his natural scoring guard role and shift Jalen Green into a tertiary role," Golliver continued. "That's a decent amount of highlight-reel potential for a Suns team that lost in the play-in tournament and doesn't have a clear path to joining the Western Conference's elite.”
The Suns have said they’re looking to stand pat for the most part after winning 45 games and losing to defending NBA champion Oklahoma City in the first round of the 2026 playoffs as an eighth seed, but Morant was once viewed as one of the league’s best players.
He’s coming off a 20-game season in which he averaged 19.5 points, 8.1 assists to 3.6 turnovers and shot a career-low 23.7% from 3. Morant posted 28 points, eight rebounds and seven assists with six turnovers in leading Memphis past the Suns, 114-113, Oct. 29 in Phoenix.
Playing 32 minutes in his only game against the Suns this season, Morant hit a game-winning jumper with 7.6 seconds left.
The Grizzlies suspended Morant for one game last November for “conduct detrimental to the team.” The 2019-20 NBA Rookie of the Year had a verbal exchange with head coach Tuomas Iisalo after a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.
“The Suns overachieved last season, and they now are faced with the choice of relying on the same roster or making an aggressive trade for a player such as Morant,” ESPN’s Bobby Marks wrote. "Because the Suns would be taking back more salary in the trade, it would hard cap them at the first apron. The restriction could put them in a position to lose free agents Collin Gillespie, Mark Williams and Jordan Goodwin.”
Gillespie and Goodwin are unrestricted free agents, while Williams is a restricted free agent.
“The Grizzlies already had entered the rebuilding phase of their roster, and they now do it without the former face of the franchise, Morant,” Marks wrote. “In taking back Allen and O'Neale, the Grizzlies save $25 million in salary for 2027-28. They also increase their future second-round picks to eight.”
O’Neale and Allen have each played their past three seasons in Phoenix.
Allen averaged a career-high 16.5 points this season, but he played just 51 games in the regular season due to multiple injuries.
The 6-foot-4 guard spent two seasons with the Grizzlies (2019-21).
O’Neale, a veteran 6-foot-8 forward, missed just four games in averaging a career-high 9.8 points and shooting a career-best 40.8% from 3 this season after making 40.6% of his 3s in 2024-25.
The Suns signed Bouyea to a two-way deal in November and upgraded that to a standard contract in March, and added Highsmith after the trade deadline.
A 6-foot-2 guard, Bouyea averaged 5.7 points in 46 games, while Highsmith contributed 5.4 points a game in seven games.
Morant received a 25-game suspension to begin the 2023-24 season after an NBA investigation because of conduct detrimental to the league.
The two-time All-Star brandished a firearm in a video on social media that led to the Grizzlies suspending him from team activities in May of 2023.
The NBA suspended Morant eight games in March of that year when he was seen on Instagram Live holding a handgun while intoxicated at a nightclub in the Denver area.
Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at [email protected] or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.
Support local journalism. Start your online subscription.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: What the Phoenix Suns would risk in a trade for Ja Morant
Continue reading...
