Inside the end of the Ja Morant era in Memphis

JA MORANT TURNED around and sprinted back on defense, determined to disrupt a fast break that seemed like a foregone conclusion.

With a burst of acceleration through the lane, Morant closed within an arm's length and launched off two feet in the baby blue paint at FedExForum, his right Nike signature shoe planted on the dotted line, as the 6-foot-8 Dyson Daniels took off for a two-hand dunk.

Despite a five-inch height disadvantage, Morant managed to swipe the ball from behind with his left hand, pulling off a spectacular chase-down block midway through the third quarter of the Jan. 21 home game against the Atlanta Hawks. Morant had jumped so high his left elbow clipped the corner of the backboard during his descent.

It was a well-timed reminder of his unique talent, an exhibit of the awe-inspiring athleticism and competitive fire that had made Morant a two-time All-Star years earlier. The game was also Morant's final appearance in a Memphis Grizzlies uniform -- at least for the season and maybe ever, if Memphis management can execute its offseason plan.

A few days later, the Grizzlies announced Morant had sustained a UCL sprain in his left elbow and would be reevaluated in three weeks, soon after the Feb. 6 trade deadline. Two months later, amid a fierce battle for lottery odds, the team ruled him out for the rest of the season because of "lingering discomfort."

Memphis moved forward with its plan to pivot toward a rebuild in the days before the deadline, sending two-time All-Star power forward Jaren Jackson Jr. to the Utah Jazz for a package headlined by three future first-round picks. The deal was similar to the summer trade that sent shooting guard Desmond Bane to the Orlando Magic, the first step in stripping down a Grizzlies roster that was once considered among the most promising in the league but produced only one playoff series win with Bane, Jackson and Morant as the core.

For weeks the Grizzlies had been aggressively looking for suitors for Morant in the trade market while he had been dealing with a calf injury, but despite Grizzlies general manager Zach Kleiman's best efforts, nothing materialized for Morant.

"This is about organizational direction now," Kleiman told the Memphis media during a news conference after the deadline, acknowledging his attempt to trade the popular face of the franchise. "This is not about Ja in particular."

Still, it is a dramatic fall for a player in Morant, who, just four years ago, was named the NBA's Most Improved Player at age 22 after averaging 27.4 points, 5.7 rebounds and 6.7 assists. And a team, in Memphis, which had won 56 games behind the trio of Morant, 23-year-old Bane and 22-year-old Jackson.

The years since that 2021-22 campaign have largely been defined by a seemingly endless stream of injuries and incidents of misconduct by their star that have left both Morant and the Grizzlies at the most perilous of crossroads.

The Grizzlies, after years of unsuccessfully trying to build around and manage Morant, need high-value and desired players to trade to continue their rebuild. Their problem, now, is Morant is neither one.

"There's certainly going to be hesitation," a Western Conference director of pro personnel told ESPN of Morant's value, "but there's going to be several desperate teams."

WHEN MORANT SIGNED his five-year, $193 million contract extension in July 2022, it seemed as if he was set as the face of the Grizzlies -- and potentially the NBA -- for years to come. But it wasn't even a full year before Morant's star began to fade, as Morant's off-court activity increasingly became a concern.

First there was a confrontation between Morant's associates and members of the Indiana Pacers' traveling party in January 2023. The Pacers alleged that a red laser, presumably from a firearm, had been pointed at them from a vehicle in which Morant was riding. The allegation prompted an investigation from the league office.

The league's investigation confirmed a "postgame situation arose that was confrontational" but "could not corroborate that any individual threatened others with a weapon." Multiple individuals, including Morant's best friend who lived with him, were banned from attending games at FedExForum for the rest of the season.

Less than two months later, hours after a March 3 road loss to the Denver Nuggets, Morant playfully waved a firearm during an Instagram livestream while partying shirtless at a Colorado strip club. The league office responded by suspending Morant indefinitely. After he flew to New York to meet with NBA commissioner Adam Silver, who chastised Morant by calling his conduct "irresponsible, reckless and potentially very dangerous" in a tersely worded statement, the league determined that the ban would last eight games.

Then, in mid-May, Morant again drew Silver's wrath by waving a gun on another Instagram livestream, just days after second-seeded Memphis meekly exited the 2023 playoffs with a five-game series loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. That resulted in a suspension that kept him out for the first 25 games of the 2023-24 season.

His anticipated return began with promise, as Morant, then still just 24, averaged 25.1 points per game, as the Grizzlies went 6-3 in his first nine games back. But then he suffered a shoulder injury in practice that, once again, ended his season.

Since then, Morant has mostly avoided off-court trouble and kept a lower social media profile but hasn't been the same player on the court. He averaged 23.2 points in 50 games last season, but rival coaches and scouts began noting that his paint-attacking metrics had dipped significantly, a facet of the game that had been Morant's biggest strength at his peak.

Just nine games before the start of the 2024-25 playoffs, Memphis shocked the NBA by firing longtime head coach Taylor Jenkins, who had led the Grizzlies for six seasons. Earlier in the season Memphis had shown promise utilizing a free-flowing style that emphasized pace and space and featured fewer pick-and-rolls and dribble handoffs, devised largely by then-assistant Noah LaRoche.

From Jan. 11 to Feb. 11, the Grizzlies went 12-3. But then they dropped nine of the 15 games leading into Jenkins' firing.

Morant, a smaller guard, preferred to work off screens, and assistant coach Tuomas Iisalo was known for his innovative offensive concepts and pick-and-roll schemes. So the firings of Jenkins and LaRoche signaled the Grizzlies were looking to optimize Morant by leaning into Iisalo's concepts.

The synergy didn't last long.

One of Iisalo's philosophical quirks includes short rotations, which one Western Conference assistant coach said takes time for players to acclimate to, especially a ball-dominant veteran such as Morant. The coach said that the short shifts make it difficult for a player to establish a rhythm.

Morant's disdain escalated. Some teammates shared Morant's opinion about Iisalo's substitution patterns, sources said. The Grizzlies suspended Morant for one game early this season because of what was deemed conduct detrimental to the team during a locker room confrontation with Iisalo following a Halloween night home loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Inside the locker room, Iisalo had called Morant, who had shot just 3-for-14 in the loss in 31 minutes, out for what he had deemed a lackluster effort. Morant, who had been bristling about Iisalo's preference for group substitutions after short bursts of minutes, responded dismissively and condescendingly.

The organization's decision to side with Iisalo was a strong message of support for the coach and another indication that Morant's time in Memphis might be nearing its end. Executives around the league had been anticipating that Morant would be available in the trade market since the Grizzlies declined to engage him in discussions about a contract extension when he was eligible for one over the summer, especially on the heels of the Bane trade, which was perceived at the time as the first domino in a teardown process.

Morant still hasn't gotten over the suspension, multiple league sources said, because he felt alienated by teammates, who were told to leave the star guard alone so he could work through the issues that had led to the suspension. In the aftermath, Morant told players around the league and some of his former coaches that he isn't playing for Memphis anymore, sources said.

If Morant does get traded before the start of next season, he'll have played only 27 games under Iisalo, including last season's first-round sweep at the hands of the Oklahoma City Thunder, when Morant was injured in Game 3 and missed the series finale. Morant averaged 19.5 points on a career-worst 41.0% shooting from the floor in 20 games this season, far off the 26.8 points on 47.9% shooting he averaged in his two All-Star seasons.

At this point, moving Morant is the last piece of business before the teardown process is complete, as the franchise focuses on rebuilding, with Iisalo coaching a young roster.

"Ja's been a pro," Kleiman told Memphis media during his exit interview Monday. "I think everyone is on the same page as much as we can be. I won't speculate on any potential transactions."

MORANT PAUSED AS he walked off the court following the Grizzlies' home finale, a 142-126 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers that he watched from the bench in street clothes. He clasped his hands in front of his face in a prayer motion and looked toward the FedExForum rafters, appearing to take a moment to say farewell to the only NBA home he has known.

In the aftermath of the loss, the Grizzlies sent out injured players Zach Edey, Jaylen Wells, Scotty Pippen Jr. and Santi Aldama to conduct their season-ending exit interviews with local members of the media.

Morant wasn't among those players, nor did he participate in Monday's exit interviews.

Still, Morant has made it clear that he would prefer to stay in Memphis, despite the franchise's intent to trade him. He left no doubt about that in his postgame media availability after a Jan. 18 win over the Orlando Magic in London, when Morant scored 24 points with 13 assists in his return from a two-week absence, the only time he has publicly discussed the trade drama.

"I've got a logo on my back, so that should tell you exactly where I want to be," Morant said, referring to a tattoo of the Grizzlies' logo on his back.

The reality is that Morant won't have much, if any, say about where he continues his career, and, perhaps, neither will the Grizzlies. When superstars are traded, especially ones who are eligible for contract extensions as Morant is, teams often work off a list of the player's preferred destinations. But that requires a list of interested teams.

In the case of Trae Young, another former All-Star point guard whose star had dimmed, the Washington Wizards emerged as his preferred destination. They also happened to be the only team showing strong interest in him. The Hawks sent Young to Washington for CJ McCollum, who is on an expiring contract, and reserve wing Corey Kispert with no draft picks in the deal.

That is the type of return that executives around the league consider reasonable in a Morant deal.

League sources told ESPN that Kleiman engaged in preliminary conversations about Morant trades with several teams, but none of those discussions progressed. The star-starved Sacramento Kings even asked the Grizzlies to "incentivize" the deal by including first-round draft compensation with Morant, sources said. That quickly ended those talks between the teams.

Sources familiar with the Kings' thinking say that Sacramento could circle back to Morant if it does not land a lead guard with its lottery pick in the draft.

Several executives from other teams polled by ESPN believe the Grizzlies should have better luck finding a destination for Morant this summer, with the caveat that Memphis shouldn't expect to get much value in return.

There is also anticipation around the league that the major domino of a potential Giannis Antetokounmpo trade could crystalize the market for Morant. The belief is that teams that miss out on the Milwaukee Bucks' megastar could then roll the dice on Morant at a much lower price point, hoping to resuscitate his career with a change of scenery.

"There will be teams that will feel like they didn't get what they wanted in the draft or free agency, and that's when something could happen for Ja," a Western Conference executive said.

Several executives noted that it's a lot easier to incorporate a player like Morant, who would be an offensive focal point on any team, if you acquire him during the summer instead of the season. An Eastern Conference president of basketball operations also pointed out that the timing of the offseason will allow teams to be more thorough in gathering medical intel about Morant, bringing him into their program with a baseline of health coming into training camp.

"Maybe I'm naive, but that type of talent doesn't grow on trees," a West executive said. "Especially if he's going to a different place and he's motivated: 'OK, I'll show you guys.' I could see some teams talking themselves into it, at least kicking the tires."

THE SAN ANTONIO SPURS were in town to face Memphis the night after the Grizzlies shut down Morant for the season. It was March 25.

Iisalo had been made available to the media for the first time since the team announced Morant would miss the rest of the season.

In the same news release that updated Morant's status, the Grizzlies announced forward Brandon Clarke would miss the remainder of the season too, rehabbing a strained right calf, and revealed that Edey underwent "a procedure to address lingering discomfort in his left elbow."

Yet nobody in that dark interview room, with its bright lights turned toward Iisalo, asked about Morant over the course of the 5-minute-and-39-second news conference.

A statement had seemingly been made in the silence. It was as if Morant was already gone.

"It feels like it's been several seasons within one season with the way it has transpired," Iisalo said, when asked how the team's process has adjusted given all the factors at play over the course of the season. "In the beginning, we were trying to bring everybody up to speed. It was obviously challenging with a lot of guys being out injured. Then after the trade deadline the team has looked a lot different, and the emphasis has been a lot on the young guys."

Iisalo fielded a question about Wells, who the team announced five days later would undergo season-ending toe surgery. He went on to discuss Edey and how he has "a very unique archetype as a player."

Iisalo wasn't asked about Morant until two nights later ahead of Memphis' fifth-consecutive loss. On a night that Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant drew the loudest applause at FedExForum during pregame introductions, Iisalo was asked about Morant's future and how the guard fits into the team's plans for development of its young roster.

"He fits really well into it," Iisalo said. "He's one of the guys who can push the break for us. He looks to play the way that we wanted to play. We saw his creation, especially before the injury, picked up all those numbers and everybody knows what he can do in this league."

Edey watched Memphis' 119-109 loss to the Rockets that night from the bench in a gray sweatsuit, wearing a black sling over his left elbow.

Morant, meanwhile, was nowhere to be found inside FedExForum.

Morant was on hand for the Grizzlies' home finale, a 16-point drubbing at the hands of the Cavaliers, played in front of an announced crowd of 16,511.

As he left the floor and headed to the locker room after the final buzzer, Morant slid past Wells as teammates stood on both sides of the tunnel entrance signing autographs for the fans still lingering.

As Morant approached the tunnel, a shrieking fan high in the stands caught his attention.

The 26-year-old looked up and extended his arms, using both hands to throw up perhaps one last gesture to the fans at FedExForum as a member of the Memphis Grizzlies.

Peace.