Advertisement - scroll for more content
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement - scroll for more content
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
The Grizzlies have made Ja Morant available for weeks, but sources have been skeptical of general manager Zach Kleiman finding a deal. Those same sources are more interested in whether Jaren Jackson Jr. could find a new team this week, though the cost to get him out of Memphis is believed to be quite high.
Zach Kleiman is way too pragmatic to let one game change that much. Ja Morant has made it very clear he does not want to get traded. He wants to stay. The reality is I don’t think there is a huge market for him. I don’t think there’s a trade the Grizzlies could make to sell to their fans… He wants to stay but he also wants to have more say like he used too. The franchise does not revolve around Ja Morant anymore like It used too. When Ja Morant clashed with the coach early in the season the FO stood behind the coach in that scenario.
Sam Amick: “And man, Ja — like he was in a good place. Considering how much time we spent talking and writing about the stuff that happened early on in the season when it seemed like he was ready to get out of Memphis and he was frustrated with the coaching staff — you know, what I saw that night was a very different picture where he was obviously hurt, but he's on the bench coaching guys up. Um, literally even engaging with Tuomas Iisalo about stuff, you know, on—on the playboard, um, things like that. So talking to people around the team, you know, Zach Kleiman, their GM, continues to not show much interest, if any, in moving Ja and to tell people that they're trying to push this thing through. Again, you know, it seems like Ja and even his—his camp and his family are—are trying to make it work.”
Following an argument with Grizzlies head coach Tuomas Iisalo and a one-game suspension for conduct detrimental to the team, rival NBA executives circled like vultures conducting due diligence to see if the Ja Morant era in Memphis was nearing an end. However, Grizzlies executive Zach Kleiman declined trade inquiries on Morant then and has since, for the time being, league sources told HoopsHype.
Phoenix Suns forward Dillon Brooks oozed confidence during his postgame interview Thursday night, Nov. 13, at Mortgage Matchup Center. Rocking the massive 'DB' chain, cold black shades and hair tightly braided, Brooks was coming off a season-high 32-point performance in just 28 minutes of a 133-98 blitzing of the one-win Indiana Pacers before a sellout crowd of 17,071. The brash Brooks has never appeared to lack confidence. So maybe this was as good a time as any to ask when he last lacked it in a game. Brooks not only answered the question, he took aim at Memphis Grizzlies general manager Zach Kleiman in the process. “I would say probably the series against the (Los Angeles) Lakers (with Grizzlies in 2023),” Brooks said. “I couldn't shoot the ball. The GM (Zach Kleiman) is telling me to only shoot six shots.”
Advertisement
Duane Rankin: Dillon Brooks said last time he wasn't confident was in the playoffs series against the Lakers when he was with the Memphis Grizzlies. Said GM Zach Kleiman told him to only "shoot six shots." #Suns
Before his trade to the Washington Wizards, Los Angeles Lakers guard Marcus Smart saw the writing on the wall throughout his final days with the Memphis Grizzlies. Minutes before the trade deadline, the Grizzlies moved Smart in a three-team deal. He finished the 2024-25 season with the Wizards before signing a two-year contract with the Lakers in free agency last summer. Smart, looking back on last season, watched Grizzlies GM Zach Kleiman fire coach Taylor Jenkins with nine games left in the regular season — very uncommon for a playoff team weeks before the postseason. It was a telltale sign of an organization in flux, but did it make Smart feel any better about his trade to the Wizards?
“Way better. You see what’s going on now,” Smart tells ClutchPoints. “That started with me. I came back from injury, and I got traded because they said I didn’t want to be there. I’m injured. What do you mean, I don’t want to be here? I’m here every day working my a** off, cheering. I’m the only one on the bench coaching, but you know how it is. Control what you can control.” It was an unfortunate ending for Smart and the Grizzlies, as the 12-year guard was looking forward to helping Memphis ascend amidst a competitive Western Conference. “I wish nothing but the best for them. Those guys — they work their a** off,” Smart added. “But you could definitely see this coming, and now, this is what you get.”
Could you see the writing on the wall before last season’s trade deadline? “You could see it. Even when I was there, me and Jake [LaRavia],” Smart replied. “You could see just how they were handling things, going about things. And it’s unfortunate — you’ve got some good talent over there. It’s unfortunate. Hopefully, they can get it together.”
Desmond Bane on his trade: It was Father's Day. We were on family vacation. My GM texted me like, "You got a second?" And I was like, "Something’s about to happen." You never expect it to be yourself. But no bad blood at all—it’s a business. I'm fortunate to be in a good situation.
Advertisement
Damichael Cole: Zach Kleiman is speaking here at Grizzlies media day. He said he's encouraged by what he's seen from Ja Morant behind the scenes going into the season.
Damichael Cole: Zach Kleiman: “Getting Jock was a high priority.”
