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Ja Morant led the Memphis Grizzlies to a 126-109 victory over the Orlando Magic in Sunday’s game in London and then addressed the trade rumors circulating around him.
“If anybody here knows me, I’m a very loyal guy,” he said, per NBA insider Marc Stein. He also said the Grizzlies tattoo on his back “should tell you exactly where I want to be.”
Earlier this month, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported the Grizzlies were entertaining trade offers for the point guard and “would prioritize draft picks and young players in return.”
However, ESPN’s Tim Bontemps and Brian Windhorst reported on Friday that interest in Morant was “tepid” with some around the league believing there won’t be “much of a market.” They listed the interest from the Miami Heat as “overstated” while noting the Milwaukee Bucks could be a potential landing spot.
Morant seemed to have a cryptic response to the trade rumors on social media:
While Morant also previously told reporters his reaction to the trade rumors were to just “live with it,” Kelly Iko of Yahoo Sports reported he was “deeply disappointed” with them as someone who was “deeply invested in the city of Memphis and its fan base” and has not asked for a trade.
He once again stressed that loyalty with his comments Sunday.
Trade rumors or not, he was largely excellent during Memphis’ win over the Magic. He finished with 24 points, 13 assists and five rebounds on 7-of-13 shooting from the field and 3-of-4 shooting from deep.
It was a reminder of just how talented Morant can be when he is dialed in, and there are teams around the league that would surely love to have that version of the playmaker running the show on the floor.
But Morant has also been inconsistent this season and played just nine games in 2023-24 and 50 games in 2024-25 because of suspensions and injuries.
At this point, Morant is still a member of the Grizzlies and didn’t seem like someone anxious to change that in the near future.