If you're in the group of Phoenix Suns fans that are hoping the front office will make a swing for Ja Morant, don't spend too much time daydreaming about what it'd be like to watch him play in the desert. As Sam Vecenie said on his podcast, 'Game Theory Podcast w/ Sam Vecenie,' the team doesn't have the picks they can move to trade for the point guard.
Not only that, but Vecenie said that 2025 No. 10 pick Khaman Maluach would be the only "real value add" that the Suns could offer, but the Grizzlies already have Zach Edey. He also mentioned Jalen Green as a "bad money" contract that Memphis could take on, but Vecenie ultimately doesn't think there is enough "enticement" from Phoenix to get a deal done.
If you're firmly in the 'there is no reason the Suns should trade for Ja' camp, you should be happy knowing that the Grizzlies could get better offers elsewhere. There are other teams, like Toronto and Miami, that could put together a package that convinces Memphis to end the Morant era once and for all.
Does that mean Phoenix won't try to get Ja, forming one of the most exciting backcourts in the league? No. Maybe it's something the Suns are already thinking about, or perhaps the front office is happy to play out the 2025-26 season where they are, currently sitting sixth in the West.
Sam Vecenie says Suns don't have enough to make Ja Morant trade
After seeing Trae Young get traded for a bag of peanuts last week, you might be assuming that Memphis couldn't get more than that for Morant.
However, the Grizzlies can get more for him because of his contract. He isn't in a position to decline his option for next season to become an unrestricted free agent over the summer, like Young. Ja's current contract runs through the 2027-28 season, giving teams enough time to evaluate whether he'd be a long-term fit before fully committing to him.
He's only 26, too. There is a chance he hasn't yet played the best basketball of his career, although in recent years Morant hasn't looked like the All-NBA player he was during the 2021-22 season, when he averaged a career-high 27.4 points per game. Since then, there has been more talk about his injuries and suspensions than his actual on-court performance.
Maybe by this point, you've started to talk yourself into a Ja trade if you were initially opposed. A deal wouldn't be as bad as you might think, but again, none of this may matter, as Phoenix isn't one of the top landing spots for the guard. That could turn out to be a good thing, as star trades have burned the Suns in the past.
Regardless of what happens with Morant, it will be interesting to see how it all plays out.