NBA Rumors: Trade Deadline, Bridges, Mavs, Luka, Lakers
While the grand majority of in-season trades occur during the week of the deadline, this season has been unusually slow as far as deal-making goes. For instance, at this time last year, we had already seen five in-season trades — to this point in 2025/26, we’ve only had one. So why haven’t we seen more action?
ESPN’s Bobby Marks recently spoke to NBA front office executives to get a better understanding of the answer to that question. There are four main reasons for the relative lack of activity to this point, Marks writes.
The first and most important factor holding up the market, per Marks, is that rival teams are waiting to see if Giannis Antetokounmpo requests a trade or if the Bucks decide to listen to offers for the two-time MVP.
Second, a few teams who were viewed as potential deadline sellers entering the season — including the Celtics, Sixers and Suns — are instead vying for home court advantage in the postseason. As Marks observes, Philadelphia made multiple deals last year to dip below the luxury tax line, but that’s unlikely to occur again in ’25/26.
Third, the Mavericks and Grizzlies will likely get underwhelming offers for Anthony Davis and Ja Morant, respectively, leading up to the deadline with their values at low points, so they may not be moved prior to February 5. Davis is out several weeks due to ligament damage in his left hand, while Morant, who has missed extended time this season with calf issues, has been diagnosed with a UCL sprain in his left elbow and was ruled out of Friday’s loss at New Orleans (Twitter link via the Grizzlies).
The final factor for the slow-moving market, according to Marks, is that teams seem more willing to retain their own expiring contracts to maintain financial flexibility in the summer rather than take on multiyear salaries that could disrupt future plans. Multiple teams, including the Lakers, Bulls and Jazz, have long lists of players who could hit free agency in 2026, Marks notes.
Here are a few more rumors from around the NBA:
- Confirming a report from Sam Amick of The Athletic, John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter link) says the Suns are indeed fans of Miles Bridges. However, the Hornets reportedly want at least one first-round pick for the veteran forward, and Gambadoro points out that Phoenix lacks moveable first-rounders to include in such a deal. Gambadoro also confirms the Suns are reluctant to risk upsetting their positive chemistry by making a significant in-season move, and suggests a minor trade is more likely.
- Ahead of Luka Doncic‘s second game in Dallas since he was shockingly traded to Los Angeles last February, Christian Clark and Dan Woike of The Athletic share several sourced notes on both the Mavericks and the Lakers. According to the authors, part of the reason the Mavs — led at the time by head of basketball operations Nico Harrison, who has since been dismissed — moved Doncic is because they believed he had poor habits related to conditioning and were concerned about the calf strain he sustained in late December 2024 and possible future injuries. One source in the Mavericks’ organization compared Doncic to Elvis Presley and claimed the trade helped him develop better habits and get in better shape. “They got skinny Elvis,” the team source told The Athletic.
- People close to Doncic dispute that characterization, however, and say that line of thinking is a factor in why the Slovenian star is no longer on the Mavericks. According to Clark and Woike, Doncic’s camp believed whether he was traded or not, he “was on a path to improving his diet and conditioning as he matured.” Doncic and those around him have been focused on the present and future and not the past, per the report.
- It took multiple seasons for the Mavericks to surround Doncic with sort of complementary players that led to a trip to the NBA Finals in 2024, and it will take time for the Lakers to reshape their roster around the 26-year-old guard as well, sources in L.A. tell The Athletic. Those same sources noted that the Lakers need to upgrade their athleticism, defense and shooting, and some people around the organization think the any significant roster changes will occur in the offseason, not ahead of the deadline.
- The Mavericks have started the process of vetting candidates to replace Harrison on a permanent basis, per Clark and Woike, but are unlikely to hire anyone until at least the spring. The Athletic’s duo point out that Harrison, a longtime Nike executive, had no previous experience running an NBA team when he was hired in 2021. That won’t be the case for his replacement. “(They) are going to over-index on the safety aspect of it,” a league source told The Athletic.
Fischer’s Latest: AD, Butler, Giannis, LeBron, Raptors, Vucevic
The Mavericks are said to be open to continuing Anthony Davis trade talks while the big man recovers from his hand injury, and agent Rich Paul would reportedly like to see a deal happen before the February 5 deadline. However, the market for Davis seems to have cooled in the wake of his latest injury, writes Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link).
The Hawks and Raptors have been the two teams mentioned most frequently this season as potential suitors for Davis, but both Eastern Conference clubs have been signaling that they’re no longer involved in significant trade discussions with the Mavericks, per Fischer. The Warriors also haven’t shown legitimate interest in pursuing the 32-year-old despite being linked to him earlier in the season, Fischer adds.
By all accounts, the Mavs won’t just send Davis to the highest bidder if they don’t get any offers to their liking, so unless Atlanta or Toronto circles back to the big man or another suitor emerges in the next week or two, it sounds like the odds of AD remaining in Dallas through the deadline are rising.
Here are a few more items of interest from Fischer:
- Fischer agrees with fellow Stein Line reporter Marc Stein, who wrote on Wednesday that the Warriors are unlikely to trade Jimmy Butler at the deadline following his season-ending ACL tear. Butler has been a positive presence in Golden State’s locker room and the Warriors believes he’ll help them next season, Fischer explains, so it doesn’t make sense to move him unless his maximum-salary contract would be necessary to land a superstar like Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo or Lakers forward LeBron James. Both of those players remain very much on Golden State’s radar, says Fischer, but aren’t considered probable trade candidates at this time and may not be in play until the offseason, at the earliest.
- The Raptors are signaling that they’re not pursuing Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant, but they maintain interest in Kings center Domantas Sabonis, sources tell Fischer. Toronto’s apparent lack of interest in Morant was also reported this week by Michael Grange of Sportsnet.
- Multiple sources who spoke to Fischer believe Bulls center Nikola Vucevic is unlikely to be traded at the deadline. However, the veteran big man is expected to be a popular target on the free agent market during the offseason, Fischer writes, since he’s believed to be open to taking on a more “complementary” role in the right situation after having been a full-time starter for most of his career.
Southwest Notes: Morant, Jerome, Finley, Flagg, Sheppard
After telling reporters over the weekend in London that he’s loyal to the Grizzlies, Ja Morant shut down questions about the trade rumors involving him when he returned to Memphis this week.
“I’m sorry y’all wasn’t able to come to London, but I’m done with those questions,” Morant responded when asked what the team told him about the possibility of a trade (Twitter link via Matt Infield of Action News 5).
Of course, just because Morant is done talking about them, that doesn’t mean those rumors will die down. Sources tell Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints that Memphis’ front office continues to engage with potential trade partners about a potential deal involving the star point guard.
Still, given the fact that Morant’s value is relatively low right now, the Grizzlies have pushed back against the idea that they need to move him, Siegel notes. Teams like the Heat and Kings hold some level of interest in the two-time All-Star, Siegel confirms, but only if he’s available at a bargain rate and they don’t have to give up assets of any real value in a deal.
Here’s more from around the Southwest:
- Grizzlies guard Ty Jerome, who has yet to play this season due to a right calf injury, “should be close” to making his debut, tweets Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. The team announced exactly two months ago that Jerome was six-to-nine weeks away from returning to action. This Saturday will mark the nine-week mark since that announcement.
- Mavericks co-interim general manager Michael Finley recognizes that the trade deadline can make players “uneasy,” but believes he’s in a good position to connect with his players and make them more comfortable because he knows what it’s like to be in their shoes. “Like I tell players, I’ve been overlooked in the draft. I’ve been traded. I’ve been amnestied. I’ve been waived. I’ve been the first man on the bench. I’ve been the 15th man on the bench,” Finley told Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News (subscription required). “Everything that you’ve experienced, I’ve experienced, so I pretty much know what you’re going through.”
- Even though it has been a disappointing season overall for the Mavericks, No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg has been a bright spot, according to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, who solicited feedback on the rookie forward from rival scouts, coaches, and executives. “He’s better than advertised, if that’s possible,” one Western Conference scouting director said of Flagg.
- After barely playing for the Rockets as a rookie, Reed Sheppard has emerged as an invaluable part of the team’s rotation in his second NBA season, writes Varun Shankar of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required). Sheppard leads Houston with 2.5 made three-pointers per game and is knocking them down at a 40.9% clip, providing crucial floor spacing for a team that ranks 29th in the NBA in total threes.
Rockets Gauging Dorian Finney-Smith’s Trade Value?
Houston is exploring the trade market in search of a potential backcourt upgrade, according to Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints, who hears from sources that the Rockets have looked into what sort of return they could get for forward Dorian Finney-Smith and second-round draft capital.
A veteran three-and-D wing who signed with Houston last summer, Finney-Smith missed the first two months of the season while recovering from left ankle surgery. Since making his debut on Christmas Day, the 32-year-old has played a very limited role, logging between 13 and 18 minutes in each of his first 12 outings.
Finney-Smith has averaged just 2.9 points and 2.8 rebounds in 15.5 minutes per night so far as a Rocket, and he’s earning $12.7MM this season, with a guaranteed $13.3MM salary for 2026/27 — he’s under contract through 2028/29, but the final two years of his deal are non-guaranteed.
As a result, Finney-Smith’s value on the trade market will likely be pretty limited, though it’s worth noting that his overall impact isn’t always reflected by his counting stats. While it’s a small sample, Houston has a +9.5 net rating and a 102.1 defensive rating during his 186 minutes on the court.
Jose Alvarado of the Pelicans and Scotty Pippen Jr. of the Grizzlies are among the guards whom league personnel have identified as possible trade targets for Houston, per ClutchPoints. Siegel also mentions Bulls guards Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu as potential players of interest for the Rockets, though it would take more than Finney-Smith and second-round picks to acquire either one.
The Grizzlies haven’t given any indication they want to move Pippen, Siegel acknowledges. Additionally, any deal involving Pippen and Finney-Smith would require more outgoing salary from Memphis’ side, since the Grizzlies guard is earning just $2.3MM.
Alvarado, meanwhile, is considered the Pelican who is most likely to be dealt and has generated interest from multiple teams, including the Knicks and Pistons, Siegel writes. Atlanta and Indiana were also linked to Alvarado earlier this season.
Like Pippen, Alvarado has a relatively small cap hit ($4.5MM), so unless more pieces are added, a deal sending Finney-Smith to New Orleans wouldn’t be practical for the Pelicans, who are operating just $2MM below the luxury tax line. They don’t want to surpass that threshold or take back long-term money in a trade, per Siegel.
As the Rockets consider their options on the trade market, they’re not looking to trade veteran point guard Fred VanVleet, who is recovering from a torn ACL, and they’re also unlikely to make a move that would reduce Reed Sheppard‘s role, Siegel adds.
Stein’s Latest: Butler, Morant, Sixers, Mavericks
The Warriors will reportedly consider all their options leading up to the February 5 trade deadline, but it’s unlikely that they’ll include Jimmy Butler in an in-season trade after he suffered a season-ending ACL tear, Marc Stein writes for The Stein Line (Substack link). General manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. said as much on Tuesday, and that wasn’t just posturing, according to Stein.
As Stein explains, while the Warriors went that route with De’Anthony Melton last season after he tore his ACL, Melton was on a modest expiring contract, whereas moving Butler’s deal ($54.1MM this season, $56.8MM in 2026/27) would be far more complicated. Additionally, Golden State has posted a 46-22 regular season record with Butler on the court since acquiring him last season and still believe he can return and help the team before the end of the 2026/27 season.
On top of that, there’s the human element to consider, Stein notes. Dunleavy played with Butler in Chicago before his retirement as a player and has known him for more than a decade, which could make the Warriors’ GM more reluctant to part ways with the star forward in the early stages of his recovery from a serious injury.
Here are a few more rumors and notes from Stein:
- Ja Morant‘s popularity in Memphis will be a factor the Grizzlies take into account as they weigh trade scenarios involving the two-time All-Star, says Stein. In Stein’s view, the Grizzlies would have a hard time selling their fans on a return similar to the one Atlanta got for Trae Young earlier this month (CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert) and would probably need to get back more than a couple favorable veteran contracts to make a deal worthwhile. Given the limited league-wide interest in Morant so far, extracting a stronger package that includes intriguing young talent and/or draft assets will be a challenge.
- The Sixers and Mavericks are among the teams with multiple players on two-way contracts whom they want to promote to their standard roster before the end of the season, Stein writes. A league source says Philadelphia is expected to find a way to convert both Dominick Barlow and Jabari Walker, and Stein believes Dallas will seek a path to promote both Ryan Nembhard and Moussa Cisse. The 76ers currently have one open standard roster spot but are operating in tax territory, while the Mavs have a full 15-man roster and minimal flexibility below its second-apron hard cap.
- As we outlined over the weekend in a Front Office story, the Sixers are fast approaching their limit of 90 “under-15” games — a team carrying fewer than 15 players on its standard roster can only use a total of 90 active games for all of its two-way players, and Philadelphia is now at 86. That means in order to keep Barlow and Walker active beyond this Saturday, one will have to be promoted sooner rather than later, or the 76ers will have to fill their 15th roster spot with a newcomer.
Raptors Rumors: Webster, Morant, AD, Agbaji, Sharpe
There have been rumblings around the NBA that Raptors general manager Bobby Webster – who is in the last year of his contract – is facing some pressure to accelerate his team’s contention timeline by making a significant in-season deal, according to Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. However, Grange hears that’s not actually the case.
Multiple sources tell Sportsnet that Webster and the Raptors are already having “meaningful” discussions about a contract extension and that the team’s head of basketball operations has a very strong relationship with Keith Pelley, the president of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (the Raptors’ parent company).
“There’s a really good vibe,” one of Grange’s sources said of the relationship between Webster and Raptors ownership. “Everyone is comfortable with each other. The communication is good. It seems like there is a big-picture view of the whole thing. It’s kind of (an) old-school approach to dealing with management. There’s a lot of runway, and no rush. Everything has cooled off (since former Raptors president Masai Ujiri was let go last June). They’ve really come a long way, considering there was an executive search this past summer.”
Following Ujiri’s exit from Toronto, the Raptors conducted a search for a new lead basketball executive but ultimately decided to promote Webster, who had worked in the front office under Ujiri for over a decade. Pelley has no regrets about that decision and told Grange that Webster’s contract status won’t affect the team’s in-season decisions on the trade market.
“There is no pressure regarding the trade deadline or his contract,” Pelley said. “And he is 100 per cent aware of that. The team is moving in the right direction and I’m convinced that Bobby will make the right moves, at the right time, to make us better. This team under Bobby’s direction, will contend for championships.”
We have more on the Raptors:
- While Toronto has been linked to Ja Morant since word broke that Memphis is considering trading him, one insider who spoke to Grange insisted that the Raptors won’t be a serious suitor for the Grizzlies point guard. Grange also expresses skepticism about the likelihood of an Anthony Davis trade between the Mavericks and Raptors, noting that the big man – who will turn 33 in March – is the sort of win-now target who probably doesn’t make sense for Toronto right now.
- To that point, while Grange doesn’t rule out the possibility of the team making a big move sooner rather than later, he hears from multiple sources that the Raptors are prepared to be patient and may be more likely to take a big swing a year from now. As Grange observes, Toronto has a fairly young roster and head coach Darko Rajakovic has repeatedly used the word “rebuild” this season when discussing his team’s progress. While I wouldn’t describe this Raptors team – which is operating in luxury tax territory – as rebuilding, Grange’s point is that the Raptors believe there’s more room for internal development and aren’t in a rush to go all-in right away.
- Ducking the tax and adding frontcourt help still appear to be the primary deadline goals for the Raptors, according to Grange, who reiterates that wing Ochai Agbaji and his $6.4MM expiring contract is the team’s top trade candidate.
- In addition to Magic big man Goga Bitadze, who was connected to the Raptors earlier in the season, Nets center Day’Ron Sharpe is another potential frontcourt target to watch for Toronto, Grange says. He has also heard from multiple sources that second-year Pelicans center Yves Missi is available, though the Raptors’ level of interest in Missi is unclear.
Knicks Have Talked To Multiple Teams About Trading Towns
The Knicks‘ 2025/26 season reached a new low point with Monday’s 17-point home loss to the injury-ravaged Mavericks, writes Steve Popper of Newsday (subscriber link). New York trailed by as many as 30 points in the first half and was down 28 at halftime, when fans at Madison Square Garden “serenaded” the team with boos.
The Knicks have now dropped nine of their past 11 games and are in danger of falling into play-in territory after holding a 23-9 record three weeks ago. In the 10 games leading into Monday, they had the second-worst defensive rating in the NBA, Popper notes.
The team’s effort was particularly dispiriting considering the Knicks had their full complement of players available — Jalen Brunson (right ankle sprain) and Josh Hart (right ankle soreness) both returned to action following injury absences.
“Guys are gonna be banged up, guys aren’t gonna be 100 percent, it’s the dog days of the season,” Hart said, according to Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (subscription required). “But the effort, I think last year no matter what we did, the effort was there. I haven’t seen this kind of effort that we had today, it was embarrassing.”
Hart admitted prior to the game that his ankle isn’t fully healthy, tweets Ian Begley of SNY.tv.
“I want to be out there to try to help the team as much as I can so (the team’s recent struggles) did (influence his decision) a little bit; a combination of that, there’s the competitiveness and the impatience that I display,” Hart said.
Two weeks ago, owner James Dolan said he expected the team to — at minimum — reach the NBA Finals. He also expressed confidence in the team’s roster and chemistry. The Knicks were promptly blown out by the top-seeded Pistons and have a 2-6 record since that public interview.
Both Popper and Bondy point out that Dolan left his courtside seat at halftime and did not return for the second half. The last time Bondy recalls that happening was during a lopsided loss in 2019, when former executives Scott Perry and Steve Mills were forced to speak to reporters after the game. Then-coach David Fizdale was fired a few days later; Mills was dismissed not long after that.
Bondy isn’t advocating for the team to fire head coach Mike Brown, which he thinks would be “reactionary and ill-advised.” But Bondy does believe a major roster shake-up is in order, and says everyone aside from Brunson and Hart should be available. That includes Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges, two players the Knicks acquired in previous blockbuster trades.
Big man Towns, who has struggled to find his form under Brown, was singled out with boos twice in the fourth quarter, per Popper — once when checking out with just under five minutes remaining, and again 29 seconds later when he checked back in for Mitchell Robinson, who picked up two quick fouls.
Towns said he understood the fans’ reaction, considering the Knicks “didn’t really have a chance” to win, as Brian Mahoney of The Associated Press relays.
“Fans are doing their part and we’ve got to do our part,” Towns said.
According to Popper, “whispers” have begun to circulate around the league about the possibility of the Knicks trading Towns, whose name popped up in rumors over the summer involving the Bucks and Giannis Antetokounmpo. League sources tell Popper the Knicks have discussed potential Towns deals with multiple teams, including the Grizzlies, Magic and Hornets.
For what it’s worth, Bondy proposes a fake trade that would send Towns and unspecified salary filler to the Trail Blazers for Jrue Holiday and Jerami Grant.
Teams Holding Onto Assets For Potential Giannis Antetokounmpo Trade
Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bucks officials have both attempted to quash speculation about a potential trade over the past two weeks, but teams around the league continue to closely monitor the situation, according to two prominent NBA observers.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said during a recent appearance on NBA Countdown (YouTube link) that numerous deals are on hold because rival teams aren’t convinced that Antetokounmpo won’t be moved by the February 5 trade deadline. General managers are reluctant to part with assets that could be useful if the two-time MVP were suddenly to become available over the next two-and-a-half weeks.
“The biggest question in the NBA right now is are the Bucks really going to stand for this and is Giannis really going to stand for this,” Windhorst said. “And I know what Giannis has said on the record and I know that the Bucks have been out there trying to buy, but I’m telling you when I talk to people in the league, they’re still holding, waiting to see. … There are deals that are on hold … because teams still aren’t 100% sure whether Giannis is going to be on the team the rest of the year, and these last few games have made them even stutter some more.”
NBA insider Zach Lowe identifies the Hawks, Warriors, Lakers, Heat and Knicks as teams that are “considering holding onto their assets for a potential pursuit of Giannis Antetokounmpo now or in the summer” (Twitter video link). Lowe notes that Antetokounmpo, who’s signed through next season and holds a $62.8MM player option for 2027/28, will become eligible for an extension in October.
“If he doesn’t take that extension, that’s the same things as basically demanding a trade,” Lowe said. “… Right now, the Bucks are only 5-5 since he came back from injury. They are getting shellacked every second that he’s off the floor on the bench resting. They’re still in 11th in the East, and the time to convince him that this group can actually do anything serious might be now.”
Lowe suggests the Bucks should target Grizzlies guard Ja Morant in their search for immediate help. Morant, who had 24 points and 13 assists on Sunday as he returned from a right calf injury, has been among the most prominent names on the trade market, but he said after the game that he’s a “loyal guy” and prefers to stay in Memphis.
“The whole league is watching,” Lowe added. “If they slide any further down the standings, if they can’t even get up to 10th or ninth in the East, does Giannis push the button now instead of waiting until the summer? It’s the biggest story in the NBA potentially.”
Milwaukee is coming off a miserable week, dropping three straight games, including an 18-point loss to San Antonio and a 33-point loss to Minnesota. At 17-24, the team is still only 1.5 games behind 10th-place Atlanta for the East’s final play-in spot and 2.5 games in back of ninth-place Chicago.
The Bucks have sent out strong indications that they’ll approach the trade deadline as buyers in hopes of making a late-season run. But they have limited trade assets available and are reportedly reluctant to part with their lone tradable first-round pick (in either 2031 or 2032).
Even if Milwaukee manages to earn a playoff spot, there’s no guarantee that will satisfy Antetokounmpo, who has stated repeatedly that he wants to win another championship before he retires. Regardless of the Bucks’ official position, teams are preparing for the possibility that a trade might happen by the deadline.
Latest On Ja Morant
Following a six-game absence due to a right calf injury, Ja Morant returned to action on Sunday and delivered one of his best performances of the season in the Grizzlies‘ 126-109 victory over the Magic in London.
According to Damichael Cole of the Memphis Commercial Appeal, Morant became the first player in franchise history to record 20 points and 10 assists in the first half of a game. He ultimately finished with 24 points and 13 assists in just 28 minutes of action.
Given the public trade rumors swirling around Morant, the performance left some wondering how the game could impact his perceived trade value around the league, but the guard made a point after the game to emphasize his desire to stay in Memphis, Marc Stein writes for The Stein Line (Substack link).
“I’m a very loyal guy,” Morant said. “I got a (Grizzlies) logo on my back, so that should tell you exactly where I want to be,” he added, referencing a tattoo of the Grizzlies bear on his back.
As Stein writes, Memphis has been willing to listen to offers on Morant due to the fact that impressive outings like Sunday’s have been rarer in recent years. Morant hasn’t played seven consecutive games since the 2022/23 season, and the injuries have seemingly taken a toll on his game. He is getting to the rim at the lowest rate of his career, while simultaneously having his worst shooting season as a pro.
However, Stein also notes that the team seems to have had a real bonding experience during this in-season trip abroad, saying that Morant was “at the heart of all the good vibes.”
In a final update on Morant, Stein reports that the Heat, whose interest in the two-time All-Star had been previously reported as “tepid,” aren’t interested in making a trade that would eat into the assets they could offer in a potential Giannis Antetokounmpo deal. Miami believes itself to be a real threat to land the Bucks star if he asks for a trade and doesn’t want to compromise its position on that front.
Ja Morant Will Return To Action On Sunday
January 18: Morant will indeed be active for Sunday’s game, the Grizzlies announced (via Twitter). Big man Santi Aldama, who was previously questionable with a due to a right calf contusion, will also be available.
January 17: Trade talks involving Ja Morant could get more serious once he gets back in action. That is expected to happen on Sunday, when the Grizzlies face the Magic in London.
Morant hasn’t suited up since suffering a right calf injury on Jan. 2.
“There’s a good chance he plays. He went through the full practice today and now we’ve just got to see how his body responds in the morning,” head coach Tuomas Iisalo said on Saturday, per The Associated Press. “There’s obviously no guarantees and he’s got to feel comfortable with how the calf feels.”
Morant has been limited to 18 games this season due to a variety of injuries and a one-game suspension in early November for conduct detrimental to the team. He’s averaging 19.0 points and 7.6 assists in 28.3 minutes per game while shooting a career-low 40.1% from the field and 20.8% on three-point attempts.
Iisalo claims he and Morant are on the same page.
“We have a very good working relationship and every day here we both look to get better,” the Grizzlies’ coach said.
However, there has been daily speculation regarding Morant’s future ever since reports surfaced last week that Memphis was entertaining trade offers for their point guard.
The Timberwolves, Kings, Heat, Bucks, Raptors, Nets and Mavericks have been mentioned as potential suitors for Morant. However, there have been no indications that any trade discussions have reached the serious level. Morant has two years remaining after this season on his five-year, $197.2MM contract and his value has dipped the past few seasons due to declining production, health problems, and off-the-court issues.