Despite reported disinterest, the Kings are still rumored to be eyeing a blockbuster buzzer-beating deal for the talented but controversial Ja Morant.
The Sacramento Kings and Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant have had an interesting past few weeks.
Both parties have been tied to each other in trade rumors prior to Thursday's trade deadline, though a seemingly damning report from Yahoo Sports' Kelly Iko indicated that as of Wednesday, the 2-time All-Star and his camp had no interest in being rerouted to Sacramento in a deal.
Even still, Morant and the Kings remain in the same conversations as the deadline quickly approaches, and ESPN's Brian Windhorst appears to believe that a deal centered around the explosive play-making point guard could be agreed upon by the Kings and Grizzlies despite both Morant's disinterest in the squad and his tanking value on the open market.
"When I talk to NBA players about (Morant's decreasing trade value), they cannot believe it," Windhorst shared Thursday.
"They cannot believe that nobody wants Ja Morant because the guy is such an incredible talent."
"If there's going to be a team that does it today, I would watch the Sacramento Kings. They can dump some salary in this type of deal, but I think Ja's going to stay put."
Leave it to the Kings' front office and general manager Scott Perry to target a controversial, injury-prone former superstar with little to no interest in the trade market, even after that player already expressed his negative feelings about a hypothetical trade to the franchise.
Still, it appears to be Perry's mission to do his due diligence and entertain the idea of a Morant deal to get off of other bad contracts and to bring in another exciting, big name.
Morant's 2025-26 season has been a disaster to this juncture (for his standards), as he's averaged a horribly inefficient (52.1% true shooting percentage) 19.5 points and 8.1 assists in 20 games with the Grizzlies, actively souring his trade value in the process.
Of course, a deal for a prime version of Morant is a completely different story, as it would be a no-brainer if the Kings were to receive the 2021-22 iteration of the high-flying floor general, when he won Most Improved Player by contributing a career-high 27.4 points with 6.7 assists and 5.7 rebounds. By that point, he'd established himself as one of the absolute best young talents in the NBA after his third season, and arguably a top-10 player in the sport.
Unfortunately, that was already four years ago, and Morant's consistently declining on-court production is a real worry for a prospective suitor with any interest at all in bringing him aboard, including the Kings.
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