Ja Morant trade rumors would be impacted by this Grizzlies draft projection originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Memphis Grizzlies traded away Desmond Bane last offseason, and they traded away Jaren Jackson Jr. before this season's trade deadline.
That just leaves Ja Morant.
And while it won't pick up steam into the playoffs are over, the watching-from-home Grizzlies certainly are already thinking about what their future with Morant may or may not look like.
Their NBA Draft Lottery outcome could play a big role, too. There are plenty of talented, young guards in this class.
If the Grizzlies are slotted high enough to grab one, Morant could be as good as gone.
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For example, ESPN's Jeremy Woo released a new mock draft on Tuesday that has the Grizzlies using the No. 6 pick to take Keaton Wagler out of Illinois.
Wagler is big enough to play alongside Morant, but he's also enough of a playmaker to take over for Morant if Memphis were to make a trade.
"Memphis made up significant ground in the race to the bottom in the second half of the season, going 2-21 in its final 23 games and landing a 9% chance at the No. 1 pick," Woo writes. "Wagler would be a malleable building block as the Grizzlies continue to remake their roster and is capable of playing alongside Ja Morant if he returns to Memphis next season."
Wagler wasn't as high-ranking a recruit as the other one-and-done players around him on draft boards, but he proved through the course of an impressive freshman season and a run to the Final Four that he's ready for the NBA.
Whichever teams get him will feel really good about it. If it's Memphis, it could also be the signal of a trade still to come.
More NBA Draft news:
• The Indiana Pacers are depending on a 52.1% draft chance
• Why Cameron Boozer is more likely to go 3rd than 1st
• Caleb Wilson gets some good NBA Draft news as Jazz, Kings watch
