The Milwaukee Bucks are looking to shake things up by reportedly targeting Ja Morant in a trade.
This season for the Milwaukee Bucks has not gone as planned, given that the team still has former MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo on the roster.
The Bucks are 17-24, 11th in the East, and a game and a half out of the final play-in spot.
With Milwaukee looking for anything to keep its season alive and showing Giannis it is worth further committing to the franchise, they are reportedly eyeing Memphis Grizzlies' star Ja Morant in a trade.
According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, the Bucks are one of the teams monitoring Morant's availability.
The report states the Grizzlies are looking at Milwaukee’s 2031 or 2032 first-round pick and Ryan Rollins in a potential trade. Kyle Kuzma and Bobby Portis are also potential trade candidates to make the salary work.
Is Ja Morant Worth It?
The Bucks have plenty of reasons to attempt to salvage the season, most notably trying to keep their Greek superstar happy and competitive.
At one point in his career, Morant was looked at as a future face of the league, a human highlight reel with unlimited potential. Injuries and off-court issues have derailed things to the point where his on-court value is lower than ever.
Morant is averaging his lowest number of drives per game of his career at 15.4. That number is still good enough to place him seventh in the league, just ahead of the Bucks' Kevin Porter Jr. It's a big drop from the 21.2 drives per game he was at two seasons ago.
His shooting is also a concern as he's shot a career 21.6% from three. He's only shot over 31% from three twice in his seven-year career, and he's never shot better than 34%.
The Bucks are the second-best three-point shooting team in the league at 39%.
Dealing Ryan Rollins
If the Bucks effectively swap Morant for Rollins, they'd be giving up a big portion of their spacing, as Rollins is shooting 39% from three.
Kevin Porter Jr is knocking down threes at a 35% clip and doesn't command the attention of Rollins. Porter Jr has proven to be a solid catch-and-shoot player, but doesn't have the off-the-dribble shooting bounce of Rollins.
Rollins has also established a strong chemistry with Giannis, as the two have a 123.3 offensive rating and a 113.8 defensive rating on the floor together. Of all of Milwaukee's two-man lineups that have played more than 250 minutes together, they have the fourth-best net rating.
Of course, it should come as no surprise that Giannis is part of every two-man combo in Milwaukee's top four.