Ja Morant a possible trade target for Houston this offseason?

Memphis should’ve never fired the previous coach. Also, their FO doesn’t know what they are doing. Ja just needs to go out there and give 150% because they will right him off and try to kick him out the league.

 

DFS, Reed, 2027 1st round pick….

 

Right team, wrong player.

Would rather have Ty Jerome.

 

Ja is that archetypical uber athletic slashing PG whose primes are really short.

See Francis, D.Rose, Westbrook... these guys are a lot of fun for a while but because of their size and how their games basically means throwing themselves at the rim over and over and over again they tend to not last long.

I guess Westbrook has lasted a bit but his prime feels like it was about 7 seasons ago and he's just been an energy bench guy since.

All that to say I wouldn't be surprised if we've already seen the best of Ja.

I think some other team is going to give Memphis a silly package for him too so whatever.

 

No Ja has really ruined his trade value. I would expect about the same as Durant. A low lottery pick, a young prospect, and a serviceable journeyman.

 

Hard pass

Though I think he has almost no trade value right now.

 

If Stone trades for this head case, he should be fired. Hell he is almost making Durant money. We’d have to trade Durant or FVV (who wouldn’t allow it) and Adams just to get close to the money. People wanting this really have no clue about building a competitive team.

 

I don't understand why anyone would want him. Head case who can't shoot and quits.

 

Here’s your solution to this insanity:

-Lean into Amen’s development as a slasher-scorer. You don’t need to overpay for the best of what Morant offers
-Inquire about Great Value Derrick White (Ty Jerome) since fit + contract are no-brainers
-Monitor the buy-out market for players that are also better fits (ex. CJ McCollum)

 

There are not many examples, so you are really going to be grasping at straws here looking for opportunities Morey had that he didnt take. Most star players in the league had a set path for them from when they were in AAU, the programs and structure they have has worked in preparing guys for the NBA more. Less guys are going broke, no one is doing coke in the locker room like the 80s, and these guys have PR teams that protect the from everything. Their own teams and sponsors tend to help protect them, Lebron and other guys had Nike teaching them how to be professional at 16 years old. They are not as extreme in what they do off court, some guys are more professional than others.

In the Morey era social media was not something they had to worry about either as far as getting caught up in reports, theyd have to be picked up by traditional media so rumors wouldn't even be enough, they'd need actual arrest records. Ja is essentially a rare breed of talent mixed with stupid that does not come along often. Morey signed Ty Lawson comin off of major off court issues, he wasnt a star, but as mentioned not many high level star players get in trouble.

Also, if you look into the culture Morey created with Harden, he essentially enabled him. This is why Harden initially liked Morey and followed him to Philly. Harden was allowed to show up to practice when he wanted, he was allowed to travel separately from the team and take private jets to Vegas in between travel days and show up on his own while the rest of the team traveled together. Harden was allowed to live by a separate set of rules, he was able to go out to clubs and get drunk day before games, got into altercations at clubs before a game day (threw someones cell phone onto a roof who took a pic of him) Harden was essentially worth the risk to Morey because he helped him win. Bulls did the same w Rodman.

It is my belief that the influence and money around the top players is so significant that these guys are goin to get away with more. If you recall the lil baby James Harden situation in Paris, they were caught with weed, he should have been arrested, but someone in the group took the blame. We are talking about guys that generate $2B+ in revenue for large corporations, they are protected and you won't see what you saw 30 year ago w guys getting in trouble. You won't find an exact comp, but understand how much these other guys get away with and gets swept under the rug. Harden's best friends are rappers, drug dealers, and gang members who get murdered (Nipsey). He has put himself into at least half a dozen situations where he could have been involved in gang violence himself or been arrested. The key difference was that Ja got on social media and brodcast what he was doing to the world, which is moronic. Harden had / has legitimate gang ties.

 

I can’t think of a worse fit, culturally or style wise. That’s not even mentioning the cap implications.

Hard no

 

Derrick White please… no Ja

 

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/67...ture-relationship/?source=user_shared_article

 

I mean I feel like you have to at least kick the tires… if it doesn’t cost too much why not?

 

Ime will not tolerate knuckleheads like Ja.

 

No thanks

 

I'm somewhat intrigued but totally uninterested!
If that makes any sense...

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Thank God, not a single bone in my body is interested in knuckleheads.