MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Memphis guard Ja Morant hopes to be in a Grizzlies uniform after this season despite being put on the trade market last month.
Morant, in his first public comments since he was injured seven weeks ago, emphasized the point while taking questions for 5 minutes before the Grizzlies game against the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night. In most cases, Morant's answers were short — sometimes evasive — and shed little light on the situation between him and the Grizzlies organization.
Even when asked about his name being mentioned at the trade deadline and the team's plans to pivot to a rebuild, Morant referred to previous comments saying he was loyal to the organization.
“I think I answered this question when they asked me where I wanted to be,” Morant said, referring to his comments when the Grizzlies played in Europe in January. When pressed further about the matter and whether anything had changed, Morant replied: “You've got a phone? Look it up.”
“That should tell you exactly where I want to be,” he said at the time.
Morant, the 6-foot-2 guard in his seventh season out of Murray State, had not spoken with the media since he injured his left elbow Jan. 21 against Atlanta. He has missed the last 20 games, including the Grizzlies matchup with the Clippers on Saturday night. The team announced Thursday that Morant was still experiencing discomfort, imaging of the elbow showed incomplete healing and he will be reevaluated in two weeks.
Morant said he has problems with cross-body passes, saying “whipping a pass” is the biggest problem.
“I feel like I could fight through it,” he said, “but I still have to be smart.”
The media availability before the Clippers game was also the first time Morant has commented since the NBA's trade deadline on Feb. 5. Memphis didn't get any offers they were willing to accept, leaving Morant on the roster and in limbo as the Grizzlies focus on the future.
Recommended for you
The potential breakup between the team and its star guard is the culmination of Morant's decreasing impact on the game.
The guard, taken second in the 2019 draft behind Zion Williamson, was a nightly highlight film early in his career with the Grizzlies.
Morant challenged some of the NBA’s tallest centers with dunks at the rim and avoided defenders with whirling gyrations. His passes found cracks in defenses, and he regularly chased down blocks where he pinned the ball at the top of the square on the backboard.
Off-court troubles and growing behavior issues started surfacing in 2023 and diminished his impact on the court for the Grizzlies. Video in March 2023 of Morant flashing a gun at a Denver-area nightclub led to an eight-game suspension by the NBA even though no criminal charges were filed.
Months later, Morant was seen on a livestream flashing a gun, this time from the passenger seat of a car. After the league investigation, Silver announced that Morant would start the 2023-24 season with a 25-game suspension.
In 20 games this season, Morant is averaging 19.5 points and 8.1 assists.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO
personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who
make comments. Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language. Don't threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated. Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything. Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Anyone violating these rules will be issued a
warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be
revoked.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.