Ja Morant reportedly tells players he isn't going to play for Grizzlies anymore; trade expected

Ja Morant's frustration with the Grizzlies and coach Tuomas Iisalo is no secret — the team suspended its star one game last season for "conduct detrimental to the team" after a locker-room confrontation with Iisalo. The coach's short shift patterns in game and bluntness in calling out stars rubbed Morant the wrong way.

Enough so that Morant told people he no longer wanted to play for the Grizzlies, reports Tim MacMahon and Michael C. Wright of ESPN.

"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."

He's expected to get his wish this offseason.

The Grizzlies looked for a Morant trade at the February deadline, but nothing materialized that Memphis general manager Zach Kleiman liked — the offers were "modest." He did trade Jaren Jackson Jr. to Utah in the wake of trading Desmond Bane to Orlando the previous summer. The Grizzlies are in a rebuild and Morant — a fan favorite in Memphis — is almost unquestionably going to be moved.

However, Morant is not going to bring back the haul of draft picks that Jackson and Bane brought to Memphis, ESPN reports.

Several executives from other teams polled by ESPN believe the Grizzlies should have better luck finding a destination for Morant this summer, with the caveat that Memphis shouldn't expect to get much value in return.

A few things hold teams back from going all-in on Morant. One is that he is owed $87.1 million guaranteed over the next two seasons, and in an NBA where teams are trying to avoid the tax aprons, that is a lot of money to take on for anything short of an All-Star player. Second is Morant's injury history — he has not played in 65 games since his rookie season and not more than 50 in any of the last three. Finally, there is Morant's ball-dominant style — he has to have the ball in his hands and be the primary shot creator to be at his best — and that is not a natural fit on a lot of rosters.

That said, this summer there will be teams chasing the bigger names — Giannis Antetokounmpo, maybe — that will strike out, and suddenly see Morant as an option. The ESPN story mentions the retooling , who spoke to the Grizzlies at the deadline but didn't come anywhere near a deal.