Grizzlies wanted Ryan Rollins in potential Ja Morant trade with Bucks

As the NBA offseason looms, the future of Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant has become the league’s most watched storyline. After a turbulent 2025-26 campaign defined by injury and organizational shifts, the trade winds are swirling with two Western Conference contenders emerging as serious suitors: the Phoenix Suns and the Sacramento Kings. — 4/17/2026 ScoopB.com

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. — 4/16/2026 ESPN

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." — 4/16/2026 ESPN

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. — 4/16/2026 ESPN

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. — 4/16/2026 ESPN

“I’m excited about how this first season with the Metros is going,” Ja Morant told ClutchPoints. “They represent the culture, just like we do. I like what we are building and hopefully we get to take it into NBA Europe.” — 4/16/2026 Clutch Points

Morant and Catch12, his media and business venture company, have purchased a stake in the Levallois Metropolitans French basketball team, ClutchPoints has been told. Over the last couple of years, the NBA and FIBA have quickly progressed towards a partnership to bring a new basketball league to Europe. Morant and his team have been monitoring those conversations, and the minority ownership signals Morant’s interest building out his business portfolio outside of traditional means. — 4/16/2026 Clutch Points

Danny Green says it’s disrespectful what the Memphis Grizzlies did to Ja Morant telling him a hour before not to show up to fan appreciation night: “I think it’s disrespectful to him obviously, but I also think it’s disrespectful to the fans. Like, a fan could have gotten a Ja Morant jersey an interaction. He may not be a fan favorite to you guys, but to the city, to the culture, to the people. His jersey sells. People but it. People want it. People want his signature. Regardless if he’s been successful there as of late or not, he was successful before and he might be successful after. So like somebody would want that jersey. Like that jersey holds value to a lot of fans. And for him individually like an hour before like what do you expect him to do at that point? Go home like you could have notified him hours beforehand. At that point I don’t need to come to the arena if I’m not giving a fan appreciation yall obviously don’t want me here. Do I go home after this? Like all right cool I’ll just go home….. Trying to like take him out of team pictures like you’re trying to banish this man ever existed from this year. Like it’s kind of wild.” — 4/13/2026 x.com

This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: Grizzlies wanted Ryan Rollins in potential Ja Morant trade with Bucks