NBA rumors: Heat, Timberwolves among immediate Ja Morant trade suitors

The Ja Morant era for the Memphis Grizzlies appears to be coming to an end, but for the Miami Heat, Minnesota Timberwolves, or Sacramento Kings, their Morant era could be beginning soon.

After a tumultuous last few seasons in Memphis, which have included suspensions, injuries, and public criticism, Morant could be on his way to being traded by the Grizzlies sooner rather than later. And if that happens, ClutchPoints’ Brett Siegel pointed to the Kings, Wolves, and Heat as landing spots.

“Keep a very close eye on Minnesota and Sacramento for Morant,” Siegel posted on X, formerly Twitter. “If Miami wants to make an all-in move, this would be it. Those are three teams immediately coming to mind for a possible Ja Morant trade.”

He followed the post with another in which he stated that the three teams “had previously reached out to Memphis earlier this year when Morant tensions with Tuomas Iisalo became the headline around the NBA.”

All three of these teams had previously reached out to Memphis earlier this year when Morant tensions with Tuomas Iisalo became the headline around the NBA. https://t.co/LkX0sYIXAQ

— Brett Siegel (@BrettSiegelNBA) January 9, 2026

The second overall pick in the 2019 draft, Morant immediately shone with the Grizzlies. He won the NBA Rookie of the Year in 2020 before earning the league’s Most Improved Player Award in 2022, the same year he became an All-Star and was named to the All-NBA second team. The following year, he again became an All-Star, but that is also when he began to run into trouble.

Just a few days before being named an All-Star, Morant and several others were involved in an incident in which it was alleged that a gun was pointed at the Indiana Pacers’ bus. While Morant denied the allegations and the NBA said it could not confirm that a gun was pointed at anyone, Morant was suspended a month later when he was seen brandishing a firearm in a nightclub on an Instagram Live video. The suspension lasted for eight games, six of which were while Morant was away from the team and in a counseling program.

Later in the season, Morant was seen with a gun in another Instagram Live, which prompted the NBA to suspend Morant for the first 25 games of the 2023-24 season. As a result of injuries and suspensions, Morant played just nine games that year. In total, he has played in 77 games in the past three seasons, including 18 this year.

Morant is currently in the third year of a five-year, $197 million max contract. He is earning $39.4 million this season and is set to bring in $42.2 million and $44.9 million over the next two years, respectively, before becoming an unrestricted free agent in 2028.

The Grizzlies are currently 16-21 and the 10th seed in the Western Conference, while the Timberwolves are fourth in the West at 25-13, and the Kings are 8-29 and only ahead of the New Orleans Pelicans in the conference. Miami is 20-17 and tied for the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference.

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