Sacramento Kings Predicted to Land Ja Morant After Grizzlies’ Shocking Move to Trade Desmond Bane

Garima Ranawat

Last updated: June 16, 2025

3 min read

The Grizzlies traded Desmond Bane. Is Ja Morant next?

Image Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

The Memphis Grizzlies sent shockwaves in the NBA world when they announced the trade of Desmond Bane to the Orlando Magic. Following the completion of the regular season, there have been rumors that several players would be on the go. However, no one expected that Desmond Bane, who spent five years with the Grizzlies, would be traded. With the trade, the Grizzlies received Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Cole Anthony and four unprotected first-round picks.

BREAKING: The Memphis Grizzlies are trading Desmond Bane to the Orlando Magic for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Cole Anthony, four unprotected first-round picks and one first-round pick swap, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/UcQnmHbgZb
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 15, 2025

The Grizzlies have had a rough patch in the last couple of seasons and they might want to cut costs or rebuild the roster. If that be the case, Bane might be the first one to leave and Memphis could also look for suitable deals for Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr.

Sacramento Kings Reported to be Possible Suitor for Ja Morant

According to Bleacher Report’s Timothy Rapp, the Sacramento Kings could be a possible suitor for Morant. Notably, earlier, the Kings traded De’Aaron Fox to the San Antonio Spurs in a multi-team trade with the Chicago Bulls and received Zach LaVine. While they might be good enough to earn an NBA Playoffs berth, Kings are far away from being a true contender for the NBA Championship.

Having Morant around would give them a push which is highly required after his trade to the San Antonio Spurs. According to Rapp, “Morant would certainly give them a star to build around, essentially replacing De’Aaron Fox after he was traded to the San Antonio Spurs in February.”

“The Kings would probably try to get off of Zach LaVine’s contract in the process in an effort to make the money work, so this would be an expensive move for them, but they have all of their own first-round picks going forward along with San Antonio’s first in 2027 and Minnesota’s in 2031.”

The NBA insider also suggested a possible package that the Kings could come up for the Grizzlies. He stated, “An alternate path might be something like Malik Monk, Keegan Murray, Jonas Valančiūnas and a mountain of picks for Morant, though a core group of Morant, LaVine, DeMar DeRozan and Domantas Sabonis would be an odd fit.”

“This might require another move or two to make sense for the Kings, but rebuilding around Morant would be more logical than keeping the status quo intact,” he added.

The trade would come as the Kings’ chance to avoid a complete rebuild and rather land a young star that would help them keep their competitive edge in the league.

Ja Morant

Sacramento Kings

Garima Ranawat

Garima is a sports writer with around two years of experience in Indian sports and a newfound interest in the NBA. Inspired by the leadership of cricketing legend MS Dhoni, she wishes to bring in newer perspectives to the NBA fanatics with her writing.