Jazz Should Take Note of Ja Morant Trade Rumors

Could the Utah Jazz get involved within the next league blockbuster?

Jared Koch | Feb 18, 2025

Feb 11, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant (12) looks on against the Phoenix Suns during the first half at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images / Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

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Utah Jazz

The NBA already saw its fair share of wild blockbuster trades and shake-ups this season amid one of the craziest trade deadlines in league history earlier this month.

And with this year's window for trades now shut down, it'll be a while until we see another big deal going down on the market.

For the Utah Jazz, it's a bit of a bummer to see the trade season come to a close –– especially for a front office proven to be eager on the trade market with their bundles of small deals made up to the deadline.

It may be only a matter of time until they're making a big swing on the market with their assortment of assets, though they'll have to wait their turn to have that opportunity.

But that opportunity for a big swing may not be too far away for Utah. The next star who could be on the move may have already found himself in some shocking early trade chatter ahead of this offseason –– that being Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant.

In a report from NBA insider Howard Beck, Morant was mentioned around league circles "out of the blue" as a wild candidate to get dealt across this offseason.

“I'm constantly checking in with executives around trade deadline about like, okay, what we saw, what we didn't see, what's next, and in this league, you are always on the lookout for who's the next wave of stars that are going to get dealt, right?… Somebody out of the blue said, keep an eye on Ja [Morant] this summer… I’m just saying it’s one of those things I’m just kind of keeping an eye on if they were to flame out early.”
- Howard Beck on Ja Morant

With a season that's already seen a trade involving annual MVP candidate Luka Doncic getting shipped to the Los Angeles Lakers, it'd be another rattling change to see Morant as the next young star out of the door seemingly prematurely.

Yet, if those rumors continue to swirl, it'll be hard not to look at the Jazz as an intriguing fit to house the two-time All-Star.

Utah's been longing for a franchise centerpiece to construct their long-spanning rebuild around. Lauri Markkanen is a strong building block, but he's likely more of a co-star as opposed to the number one option on a competitive team.

When it comes to Morant, he's proven to be a lead playmaker and leader in the backcourt on a top team in the West, especially this season, as the Grizzlies have lifted to the second seed for the conference. For the Jazz's vacant number one option, he's an interesting guy for the job.

His counting stats are a bit lower than usual, averaging 20.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 7.4 assists on 44.7% from the field in 32 games. Still, at age 25, Morant's a former MVP candidate with considerable life left in his career, and it's hard to discredit him as one of the better point guards within the NBA.

The Jazz have had appealing pieces emerging in their own backcourt, including first and second-year guys like Isaiah Collier and Keyonte George. But neither may reach Morant's ceiling as a potential MVP-caliber guard. His addition to this young core would be a spark of athleticism and scoring ability that could be hard to find elsewhere.

Would it be a high price to land Morant? Definitely, but the Jazz have the cards to do it.

Whether a deal centers around picks, a few young prospects, or even some veterans to add into the mix for Memphis, the Morant connection may make sense for Utah as long as the price doesn't span too high. The acquisition only adds up if the Jazz won't give up their entire core in the process, yet time will tell if that's what it would take to land the former second-overall pick.

Of course, don't expect any moves on Morant for the next few months as the remainder of this season concludes, but the chatter on the Grizzlies guard may ramp up as the summer creeps closer.

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