Why This Ja Morant Kings Trade Proposal Is the Best the Grizzlies Can Hope For

It wasn't long ago that Ja Morant was the future of the Memphis Grizzlies.

Nobody was questioning Morant's status as a franchise player. He carried the Grizzlies, and he would continue to do so well into the future.

Well, life can happen awfully quickly in the National Basketball Association.

Now, the Grizzlies are widely expected to move Morant. Worse still, they aren't expected to get a strong return. Morant is injury-prone and suspension-prone. If Memphis could extract any first-round draft capital for him, that would be a win.

So, they would have to consider a new deal that Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes just put on the table that would send Morant to the Sacramento Kings.

Grizzlies get best possible return for Morant in hypothetical deal

That said, the most optimistic Grizzlies fans may not celebrate this proposal. Here are the details:

Sacramento Kings receive:

Memphis Grizzlies receive:

Let's get one thing straight: This isn't about DeRozan.

That said, it is partly about his contract. Next season, he'll be on an expiring deal. The Grizzlies could even let shop him to a contender in need of a scoring punch at the deadline. Still, even if they didn't find a suitor, letting him walk as a free agent the following summer would be a non-issue.

It's not necessarily about Hunter either, although Memphis would surely be able to find a taker for him at the deadline. He's the type of low-usage 3-and-D wing that there's always a market for. If the Grizzlies want to make a quick return to the postseason, they could even consider keeping Hunter on board.

Mostly, this is about the first-round pick. Sure, it's top-10 protected. Brutal reminder: Morant is injury-prone and suspension-prone. He's also a small guard without a jump shot. The Kings are incurring risk here, so they'll only compensate the Grizzlies so much.

You don't need to tell a Grizzlies fan that after Adam Silver's anti-tanking measures, the draft is less predictable than ever. The Wolves may have moved Anthony Edwards by 2030 and be among the worst teams in the league. It's also possible that they'll make a win-now pivot and keep this pick out of the top-10.

That's fine. As beggars, the Grizzlies cannot be choosers. Any first-round draft capital should suffice. In the bigger picture, the Grizzlies are drafting their new franchise player this summer anyway. Losing Morant in a bad market is tough, but there's plenty of reason for optimism for this organization:

No matter how excited they used to be about Morant's future.

Grade: A+