Ja Morant makes high-profile change ahead of pivotal summer

Ja Morant has decided to shake up the Etch-A-Sketch.

The Memphis Grizzlies star point guard Morant has parted ways with his agency LIFT Sports Management, Damichael Cole of the Memphis Commercial Appeal reported Thursday. Morant is moving on after only spending about a year under LIFT Sports Management’s representation following his split with longtime former agent Jim Tanner in 2024.

LIFT Sports Management is the agency headed by retired ex-NBA champion sharpshooter Mike Miller, who once played for the Grizzlies. Cole notes that Miller had become a regular at Memphis home games this season, often sitting courtside next to Morant’s father Tee.

The decision by the two-time All-Star Morant comes ahead of an important offseason for him. Morant is still under contract with the Grizzlies for the next three years (over which he is owed roughly $126.5 million). However, the 25-year-old is eligible for a new two-year extension this summer.

Morant only managed to appear in 50 games this season, mainly due to hip, shoulder, and hamstring injuries. When healthy, Morant averaging 23.2 points and 7.3 assists per game overall, and the Grizzlies went 48-34. That was only good enough though for a berth in the play-in tournament, which Memphis advanced out of but ended up getting swept by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round.

Recent reports have suggested that the Grizzlies may even consider trading Morant this offseason, especially after their firing of Taylor Jenkins (who had previously been the only head coach of Morant’s NBA career). Now Morant is set to hire new representation to help him navigate through all the uncertainty.