1 Western Conference team showed interest in Ja Morant before Trail Blazers’ trade

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1 Western Conference team showed interest in Ja Morant before Trail Blazers’ trade

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports
By Matt Wadleigh | Last updated Jun 29, 2026 5:44 PM ET

The NBA landscape was shaken up on Monday when the Memphis Grizzlies traded Ja Morant to the Portland Trail Blazers.

The Grizzlies acquired Jerami Grant and Kris Murray for Morant, and after months and months of trade rumors, Morant finally has a new home.

However, one other team in the Western Conference was previously “eyeing the possibility” of trading for Morant: The Sacramento Kings, according to insider Marc Spears.

The Sacramento Kings were eyeing the possibility of adding Ja Morant dating back to the last NBA trade deadline, but drafting Darius Acuff, Jr., recently cooled that talk.
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) June 29, 2026

The trade rumors involving Morant picked up recently. The New Orleans Pelicans were at one time the frontrunner to land Morant, but the Blazers made the surprising move to pair him with Damian Lillard.

The Kings were also in there, but once they selected Arkansas Razorbacks star Darius Acuff Jr. at No. 7 in the NBA Draft, things changed.

The Blazers acquiring Morant is the latest in what has been a busy couple of weeks on the NBA trade front.

It began with the Milwaukee Bucks trading Giannis Antetokounmpo to the Miami Heat. Shortly after, the Minnesota Timberwolves acquired LaMelo Ball in a deal with the Charlotte Hornets.

Now, Ja Morant is headed to Portland with new head coach Micah Nori.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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