Over 11 months ago, Jimmy Butler lost his joy with the Miami Heat. Fast forward to now, and Grizzlies star Ja Morant’s lost his joy in Memphis.
The two-time All-Star had an interesting postgame exchange with reporters last week after first-year head coach Tuomas Iisalo reportedly challenged his leadership. He was eventually suspended for conduct detrimental to the team.
While all indications, as of now, suggest the Memphis Grizzlies aren’t looking to move Morant, many have speculated about his future in Memphis. Multiple — including Kendrick Perkins and Carmelo Anthony — want to see the 26-year-old guard in Miami.
“I do think it’s time for Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies to part ways,” Perkins said recently on the Road Trippin’ Show. “And I do think there’s only one option for Ja — only one direction he needs to go: He needs that Erik Spoelstra, Pat Riley and Miami Heat Culture.”
“He needs a culture,” Anthony said recently on 7PM in Brooklyn. “He created the culture in Memphis, right? [Zach Randolph] and those guys, they had one culture. [Ja Morant] and this time, they got another culture. He created that.
“He needs to go somewhere that’s already centered around culture, hard work and discipline. I’m not mad at him in Miami. [Pat Riley] is gonna let you be you. But you also gotta be professional. Where else?”
Why Ja Morant would not be a current fit with Heat:
There’s no question that Morant is one of the league’s most tantalizing guards when he’s on the court.
But the biggest reason why Morant wouldn’t be the best fit — currently — with the Heat is not only due to the team’s imbalanced roster, but also the new offense they implemented with success.
Earlier this summer, the Heat hired Noah LaRoche as an offensive consultant. Their offense has been a bottom-third unit each of the last three seasons; change was needed. If you rewind to last season, LaRoche was hired as an assistant with the Memphis Grizzlies and credited with implementing a fast-paced, spaced, motion-laden offense that de-emphasized the use of screens.
The offense didn’t quite jell with the former No. 2 overall pick. It ultimately led to the firing of head coach Taylor Jenkins — as well as multiple staffers, including LaRoche — in favor of Iisalo, whose ball-screen-driven offense was a much better fit stylistically.
While Miami’s offense has been a slightly above-average unit through two weeks, as talented as Morant is, are we sure he would adapt this time around, hypothetically? I’m not.
Miami is overdue for a consolidation trade. They have way too many guards and wings and zero bigs behind Bam Adebayo and Kel’el Ware (no offense, Vlad Goldin). The Heat aren’t one move away from contention. But if Morant’s available at the right price, you kick the tires, no questions asked.
That said, fit matters, and I’m not sure Morant is one at this juncture … hypothetically.
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I understand that if there’s a chance to trade for a superstar, you go for it. BUT.. Has Memphis been able to achieve any success with Morant? SunMan has thoroughly explained all the reasons why it is not such a good idea. Injury prone, off court drama, not compatible with the our current offense, questionable defense, declining stats. I am not conviced he would buy into the Heat culture and improve his attitude. I don’t believe people change. He is a super athletic player, but I don’t believe he would make us a better and more successful team.. Too risky in my opinion. Let’s concentrate on improving the front court, this should be our priority.
What I love about this is the respect people have with the Heat culture. They think Miami can break players’ bad attitudes.
“Miami is overdue for a consolidation trade. They have way too many guards and wings and zero bigs behind Bam Adebayo and Kel’el Ware (no offense, Vlad Goldin). The Heat aren’t one move away from contention. But if Morant’s available at the right price, you kick the tires, no questions asked.”
Absolutely NOT Matt!
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I’m sure I’ve left a few things out, but the preceding facts should be enough justification not to trade for him.
dav and wiggins for ja your not doing that?
Hell No! Oops, I forgot you liked the “I lost my joy” quitter. Do you really want another high priced, underperforming, egotistical drama queen?
Lol nice! This is like a movie titled “10 things I hate about you”
Excellent comment
I agree. He is a talented player, but with his on and off court issues, and that we need another big, not another point guard, he is not currently the best option for the team.