A new 2026 NBA mock draft from Yahoo Sports has the Memphis Grizzlies selecting Kingston Flemings as Ja Morant's potential replacement.
The Memphis Grizzlies have spent the past year stripping their roster down to its foundation. The next move, according to one prominent draft analyst, could be replacing Ja Morant with a freshman guard out of Houston.
In a recent 2026 NBA mock draft, Kevin O'Connor of Yahoo Sports has the Grizzlies selecting Kingston Flemings, a 6-foot-4 ball-handler who emerged as one of college basketball's breakout stars this season.
As a freshman at Houston, Flemings averaged 16.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, 5.2 assists, and 1.5 steals per game. He earned consensus second-team All-American recognition and was named first-team All-Big 12. Flemings wasn't the headliner of Houston's freshman class entering the season, O'Connor wrote, but climbed into top-10 territory while a few of his more decorated teammates slid the other way.
Memphis has stockpiled draft capital like few teams in the league after trading Desmond Bane to the Orlando Magic last offseason and Jaren Jackson Jr. to the Utah Jazz in February. The Grizzlies have stacked up eight first-round picks between 2026 and 2032. Memphis holds the sixth-best odds for the No. 1 overall pick and is also projected to own three of the top 32 picks in this year's draft.
Grizzlies general manager Zach Kleiman is focused on establishing a clear direction.
"This is about organizational direction now," Kleiman said.
Morant is the final piece of the previous era still on the roster. ESPN reported that Memphis is expected to be in a better position to move the two-time All-Star this offseason than it was before the February deadline, when at least one potential partner, Sacramento, wanted the Grizzlies to attach a first-round pick to any deal.
Morant appeared in just 20 games this season and averaged 19.5 points and 8.1 assists per start. League executives have pointed to Trae Young's January trade from Atlanta to Washington, which returned only CJ McCollum's expiring contract and Corey Kispert, as the realistic comp for what Memphis can expect in return.
In O'Connor's projection, Flemings would join a young Grizzlies core that includes center Zach Edey and wing Cedric Coward, both 25 or younger. He profiles as a guard who can score at all three levels, make advanced reads, and protect the basketball, traits Memphis has sought as it remakes its backcourt.
The lottery has yet to be drawn, the order has yet to be set, and a Morant trade has yet to materialize. But for the first time in years, the Grizzlies' offseason blueprint no longer assumes Morant is part of it.