April 7, 2026<\/a>The Dealbreaker: Ryan Rollins<\/p>\nIt sounds crazy at first. A trade for Ja Morant, an All-Star-level player, a franchise-level talent, falls apart because of Ryan Rollins? But once you zoom out, it actually makes a lot of sense. Ja Morant’s trade value is at an all-time low. Morant’s availability over the last three seasons has been very concerning. Ja Morant is still only 26 years old and a change of scenery could do wonders for him.<\/p>\n
Pairing Ja with Giannis could be very interesting but Ja is not producing at a level that warrants his current contract. Ryan Rollins on the other hand is on an amazing team friendly contract. <\/p>\n
Ryan Rollins is 23 years old and in the middle of a breakout season. He\u2019s putting up over 17 points and around 5.6 assists per game, while shooting nearly 41% from three. He\u2019s stepped into a full-time starting role and hasn\u2019t looked out of place at all. That combination, young, productive, and affordable, is exactly what teams value right now.<\/p>\n
Why Milwaukee Said No To Morant<\/p>\n
The Bucks\u2019 decision really comes down to where they are as a team.<\/p>\n
They\u2019ve already gone all-in on building around Giannis Antetokounmpo. They\u2019ve traded picks, sacrificed depth, and pushed their chips to the middle of the table. But the results haven\u2019t fully met expectations, and there\u2019s at least some uncertainty about the future. In that kind of situation, you don\u2019t just give away one of your best young assets, especially not for a player with as many question marks as Morant right now.<\/p>\n
What This Means for Memphis<\/p>\n
This means that the Ja Morant in Memphis could be coming to an end this offseason. Teams don\u2019t casually shop their franchise player. Even having these conversations signals that the Grizzlies are at least questioning what their future looks like without Morant as the centerpiece.<\/p>\n
And what they likely learned is this: his value isn\u2019t what it once was. This situation says a lot, about Morant, about the Grizzlies, and about how the rest of the league views both right now.<\/p>\n