The clock is ticking toward the start of NBA free agency, and the Grizzlies are sitting in the middle of a week that could reshape the franchise.
Free agency opens June 30 at 5 p.m. CT, while trades and deals can become official on July 6, when the league’s moratorium ends.
Memphis also has several team options to sort out by June 29. On top of that, the trade market still appears wide open.
And the biggest question hanging over it all is Ja Morant.
Sources say the Miami Heat had interest in the Grizzlies point guard before the Giannis Antetokounmpo deal, though there is not much expectation that Morant would be bought out. League sources told Yahoo Sports to expect Morant to be traded this week.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst went even further during NBA draft coverage on June 24, saying Morant is finished in Memphis, even as the Grizzlies work through a tough search for a deal.
"It's not really a question for the Grizzlies, they're going to really try to trade him," Windhorst said. "I think we've probably have seen the last moments of Ja Morant in a Grizzlies uniform.
It just depends on of how it's going to play itself out. They are looking to totally reset their franchise and Boozer's selection at No. 3 is a part of that.
They've had difficulty finding a trading partner for Ja Morant. There's not that many teams that need franchise point guards, quite frankly.
A lot of them just drafted them last night that they want to develop."
Morant is 26 and a two-time All-Star, but the market for a player of his profile is proving hard to read. The Grizzlies want to move him, yet finding the right team willing to step in has been the issue so far.
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Santi Aldama May Be Memphis Last Painful GrzNxtGen Decision
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For Memphis, the appeal is obvious: Lopez already looks like the kind of wing-sized player who can do more than one thing, even if the shot and the on-ball creation still leave room for questions. Summer League gives him a clean chance to make a first impression, and if he translates the same toughness and playmaking he showed overseas, he could quickly become one of the more interesting names in the Grizzlies offseason mix. [Read more 🡒]