Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant has been ruled out for the remainder of the NBA season after suffering an ulnar collateral ligament sprain in his left elbow.
The 26 year old suffered the injury on January 21st in his team’s 124-122 loss to the Atlanta Hawks. After consulting with team physicians, it was determined that the best course of action would be shut the dynamic guard down for the year, and administer a platelet-rich plasma injection to help heal the ligaments.
Morant competed in just 20 games this season, averaging 19.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 8.1 assists for the Grizzlies. Memphis was believed to have explored the trade market for Morant prior to the deadline this year, but no deal ever materialized.
Because of suspensions, and a variety of injuries, the former 1st round pick has appeared in just 79 games over the last 3 years combined. With two seasons, and $87M remaining on his deal, it’s highly likely that the 24-47 Grizzlies re-explore trading the 2x All-Star again this offseason.
His cap hit, plus the current trajectory of the team aren’t in alignment, leading many to believe that it’s a matter of “when” rather than “if” the team pulls the trigger on a trade.
Memphis previously traded star forward Jaren Jackson Jr. to the Utah Jazz as part of a larger 8 player deal in February, essentially signalling the start of the team’s rebuild. After winning back to back Divisional titles between 2021-2023 and entering the playoffs as the Western Conference’s number 2 seed, the Grizzlies have finished in 13th, 8th, and are trending towards a bottom 3 finish this year in the West.
Memphis will prepare to take on the red hot San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night in an 8pm ET showdown.
Photo: Erik Drost. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.