Ja Morant is one of the biggest names on the trade market in advance of the Feb. 5 NBA Trade Deadline. The Memphis Grizzlies guard showed encouraging signs on the court earlier this month, but Morant's durability questions re-emerged when he suffered another multi-week injury that will sideline him until after the deadline comes and goes. Still, there is buzz that the Grizzlies are at least gauging the market for Morant, and the Miami Heat have been a potential suitor bandied about in NBA circles.
In his latest entry on The Stein Line, Marc Stein posited that the Grizzlies "still hope to find a trade partner before the Feb. 5 buzzer after so much public discourse surrounding Morant's availability." Stein also adds that Memphis is "said to be angling for at least one future first-round pick in a Morant deal," even amid the reality that a similar player (Trae Young) was recently dealt without that kind of asset in return.
That sets the backdrop to explore how the Heat could make a potentially compelling offer to Memphis before the deadline and, in the process, land the kind of "big fish" that Miami is famous for over the last two decades.
One logical way to send Morant to Miami
Grizzlies receive: Jaime Jaquez, Simone Fontecchio's expiring contract, Terry Rozier's expiring contract, and a lottery-protected 2030 first round pick
Heat receive: Ja Morant
It seems relatively clear that Memphis could draw a line at grabbing at least some future value in a Morant trade, whether that be with a young player and/or draft compensation. In this (fake) proposal, Miami would land both.
Jaquez is not a game-changing force, but he is a 24-year-old averaging more than 15 points per game in his third NBA season. He would arrive in Miami with one more year of cheap rookie-scale control, plus the ability for the Heat to exercise his restricted free agency at the end of the 2026-27 season.
In addition, Miami could send one protected first round pick, as the Heat only owe one future first (2027 to Charlotte) at this stage. In this scenario, it would be a lottery-protected first that would convert into a pair of second-round assets, avoiding any problematic encumbering for Miami in the future.
There is some uncertainty around whether Terry Rozier can be traded, but league buzz points to that being allowed to help Miami, and the combination of Rozier and Fontecchio provides matching salary without any future commitment for the Grizzlies.
Overall, Miami gets Morant without having to give up big-time draft capital or any of its core pieces (Herro, Adebayo, Powell, Ware, etc.), while Memphis can sell a package that includes two real assets.
An alternate pathway
If the Heat are perhaps hesitant to commit to a small and defensively challenged backcourt of Morant and Tyler Herro, there is another pathway to making a deal happen that would send Herro to Memphis.
Grizzlies receive: Tyler Herro and Simone Fontecchio's expiring contract
Heat receive: Ja Morant
One could reasonably argue against Miami even believing that Morant is an upgrade on Herro after Herro's All-Star season in 2024-25. However, Herro has appeared in only 11 games this season due to injury, and when he's been on the court, his impact has not been quite as lofty as it was a year ago. Morant's ceiling is certainly higher than Herro's and, again, there is every reason to be skeptical of a Herro-Morant backcourt actually working.
This path does seem less likely in that Miami has always prioritized Herro. Still, it is hard to decipher how the Heat would navigate the defense with both players, especially in a world in which the Heat also commit real resources to bringing Norm Powell back in the future. On the Grizzlies side, this angle might be more palatable in that Herro is, in fact, a recent All-Star, but Memphis also could seek more of a "reset" package, especially if the Grizzlies tend to do more remodeling of their roster in the coming days and months.
In an overall sense, Morant and the Grizzlies could be in a stand-off, and a lot of the current reporting points to Memphis being unable to find a clear suitor at this stage. Miami would check a lot of potential boxes, though, and there are potential deals that could be palatable on both sides.