Ja Morant next team odds:Toronto Raptors

[tsherkin]

His player type also falls off a cliff when things go bad eg. Wall, Francis, Marbury. Smaller guards who can't shoot have not aged well historically. To add to that, he's always injured and relies so much on his athleticism. Not a good combination heading into his mid to late 20's.

Good examples, yeah. They don't age well, they don't tend to scale well against higher-end defenses, and he's already missing significant time perennially due to injuries.

[ontnut]

It seems like these betting odds posts are heavily favouring Raptors in a lot of cases because the Raptors are making a lot of noise and throwing their hat in the bucket for every "star" upgrade there is out there. Sort of like the Knicks and their head coaching search.

[Scase]

Except for him being a better version of RJ getting to the rim, and overall a better defender, only lacking in shooting the 3.

Is he better at getting to the rim than RJ?

He certainly drives more, but as his volume has gone up, his ability to get all the way there has declined. Which is somewhat normal, to be fair, but does him no favors as far as scoring efficiency and the like. He's been around a 56% TS guy in his last two seasons of more than 9 GP, which isn't far better than RJ. And at 16.9 FGA/g, RJ got to the rim on 35.4% of his attempts this year, compared to Morant's 28.9 and 23.3% in 2023 and 2025, on 19.9 and 17.8 FGA/g.

He's a better penetrate-and-pitch guy, but we also have weaker shooting.

I dunno, man. Better defender, no doubt. Is the difference large enough on O to go with all the risks and flaws he has?

I don't know. Ja is good, he's a good example of how an inefficient dude can drive an offense with rim pressure and passing, but he's not a playoff marvel, he's not a dude you WANT supporting large volume and he has so many issues.

For sure, legitimate concerns. His at the rim %'s are definitely better than RJ by a noticeable margin, outside of his rookie/sophomore years he's averaging 69%, RJ even including his wildly out of the norm 32 game spread with us is still only around 64%. His 3 is naturally an issue, but it's not exactly hurt his game in the past.

But much like I mentioned in the other thread, I think it comes down to cost. If it's not some unreasonable cost, why not go for it. I wouldn't scoff at getting a guy on the team who previously was putting up back to back seasons of 27/6/7 and 26/6/8 on decent efficiency. And I'd certainly prefer a guy putting up those numbers on below to average efficiency over 22/5/5 on the same or worse.

Just saying that looking at a guy like Ja and saying "he doesn't fit" is stupid.

[tsherkin]

For sure, legitimate concerns. His at the rim %'s are definitely better than RJ by a noticeable margin, outside of his rookie/sophomore years he's averaging 69%, RJ even including his wildly out of the norm 32 game spread with us is still only around 64%. His 3 is naturally an issue, but it's not exactly hurt his game in the past.

Yes, he finishes better when he gets there, but that's not what we were talking about You said "better version of RJ GETTING to the rim," and that's what I was discussing. And in the end, he's not significantly more efficient, which is even worse.

But much like I mentioned in the other thread, I think it comes down to cost. If it's not some unreasonable cost, why not go for it. I wouldn't scoff at getting a guy on the team who previously was putting up back to back seasons of 27/6/7 and 26/6/8 on decent efficiency.

Eh?

I'll give you 2022, because league average was only 56.6% at the time and Ja managed 57.5%. But in 2023, that wasn't "decent efficiency," that was less than 56% and was -2.4% rTS.

And I'd certainly prefer a guy putting up those numbers on below to average efficiency over 22/5/5 on the same or worse.

So... like Ja in 2023?

Just saying that looking at a guy like Ja and saying "he doesn't fit" is stupid.

It isn't just about fit. It's about a guy who isn't scaling up to the present offensive environment. He's got some strengths, but the price would have to be pretty low for a dude with his availability issues, personal drama issues and inability to shoot/score efficiently.

[Scase]

For sure, legitimate concerns. His at the rim %'s are definitely better than RJ by a noticeable margin, outside of his rookie/sophomore years he's averaging 69%, RJ even including his wildly out of the norm 32 game spread with us is still only around 64%. His 3 is naturally an issue, but it's not exactly hurt his game in the past.

Yes, he finishes better when he gets there, but that's not what we were talking about You said "better version of RJ GETTING to the rim," and that's what I was discussing. And in the end, he's not significantly more efficient, which is even worse.

But much like I mentioned in the other thread, I think it comes down to cost. If it's not some unreasonable cost, why not go for it. I wouldn't scoff at getting a guy on the team who previously was putting up back to back seasons of 27/6/7 and 26/6/8 on decent efficiency.

Eh?

I'll give you 2022, because league average was only 56.6% at the time and Ja managed 57.5%. But in 2023, that wasn't "decent efficiency," that was less than 56% and was -2.4% rTS.

And I'd certainly prefer a guy putting up those numbers on below to average efficiency over 22/5/5 on the same or worse.

So... like Ja in 2023?

Just saying that looking at a guy like Ja and saying "he doesn't fit" is stupid.

It isn't just about fit. It's about a guy who isn't scaling up to the present offensive environment. He's got some strengths, but the price would have to be pretty low for a dude with his availability issues, personal drama issues and inability to shoot/score efficiently.

Fair enough about the efficiency of getting to the rim, but overall Ja both finishes at a higher rate and has a much higher FTr and a better FT%, I imagine if we looked at points generated from drives, Ja would eclipse RJ to a comical degree.

As for your comment about 2023, not sure I follow. He put up 26/6/8 on 55.7% TS% on his worst year of the last 4. That would be both significantly more production and the most efficient year of RJs career when ignoring the 32 game outlier.

I'm not saying he's the most efficient guy in the world, but comparing his efficiency and production to RJ just shows a glaring gap.

The fit comment is directly arguing the statement :

JA doesn't even make sense on this roster outside of "star hunting"

He makes sense on the roster, his fit is not an issue. Ja would make sense on most rosters, suggesting otherwise is just absurd.

[tsherkin]

Fair enough about the efficiency of getting to the rim, but overall Ja both finishes at a higher rate and has a much higher FTr and a better FT%, I imagine if we looked at points generated from drives, Ja would eclipse RJ to a comical degree.

It's quite possible, yes. Don't know that it matters too much, given that he shoots more and isn't much more efficient, though.

As for your comment about 2023, not sure I follow. He put up 26/6/8 on 55.7% TS% on his worst year of the last 4. That would be both significantly more production and the most efficient year of RJs career when ignoring the 32 game outlier.

55.7% TS is 1% different than what RJ managed this year, and like I said, was still -2.4% rTS. It's nothing to crow about. He shot a lot, and put up volume as a result. You were specifically discussing "decent efficiency," and I noted that it really wasn't.

I'm not saying he's the most efficient guy in the world, but comparing his efficiency and production to RJ just shows a glaring gap.

And my counter is that it's been several years since there was a noteworthy gap in efficiency, and even the space to which he took it in 2023 was inefficient, and not a super-hot core strategy. We will get better scoring efficiency at volume out of BI.

He makes sense on the roster, his fit is not an issue. Ja would make sense on most rosters, suggesting otherwise is just absurd.

I don't know that he makes a lot of sense on this roster, to be honest. The notion of a hard-driving guard is good, but there's just so much other stuff going on that his individual fit really doesn't. Culturally, in terms of the utility of his scoring volume, etc, etc.

[PushDaRock]

For sure, legitimate concerns. His at the rim %'s are definitely better than RJ by a noticeable margin, outside of his rookie/sophomore years he's averaging 69%, RJ even including his wildly out of the norm 32 game spread with us is still only around 64%. His 3 is naturally an issue, but it's not exactly hurt his game in the past.

Yes, he finishes better when he gets there, but that's not what we were talking about You said "better version of RJ GETTING to the rim," and that's what I was discussing. And in the end, he's not significantly more efficient, which is even worse.

But much like I mentioned in the other thread, I think it comes down to cost. If it's not some unreasonable cost, why not go for it. I wouldn't scoff at getting a guy on the team who previously was putting up back to back seasons of 27/6/7 and 26/6/8 on decent efficiency.

Eh?

I'll give you 2022, because league average was only 56.6% at the time and Ja managed 57.5%. But in 2023, that wasn't "decent efficiency," that was less than 56% and was -2.4% rTS.

And I'd certainly prefer a guy putting up those numbers on below to average efficiency over 22/5/5 on the same or worse.

So... like Ja in 2023?

Just saying that looking at a guy like Ja and saying "he doesn't fit" is stupid.

It isn't just about fit. It's about a guy who isn't scaling up to the present offensive environment. He's got some strengths, but the price would have to be pretty low for a dude with his availability issues, personal drama issues and inability to shoot/score efficiently.

His efficiency is also propped up from his high FTR. He was at 50.4 eFG% last season and 50.8 eFG% for his career. He's extremely inefficient when he's not getting to the line or finishing at the rim and he's been trending down with the amount of shots he takes at the rim.

The fit is also very questionable with the current roster. You have a non shooter in Jak, bad shooters in Ja and Scottie, Ingram who doesn't take a lot 3's. Then, if you start Gradey you have defensive issues and if you start Ochai he's also a low volume shooter.

[tsherkin]

His efficiency is also propped up from his high FTR. He was at 50.4 eFG% last season and 50.8 eFG% for his career. He's extremely inefficient when he's not getting to the line or finishing at the rim and he's been trending down with the amount of shots he takes at the rim.

Yes, that's sort of what I was talking about earlier, exactly. He's trending down, and he's like 10% fewer of his shots are at the rim compared to RJ. And he relies on that rather heavily, because he isn't very good outside of that. And that's a problem when you have Scottie and Yak.

Ingram is less of a problem, he can score from anywhere, but the spacing isn't going to be great and the end result of Ja shooting a lot is more inefficient offense. We're now talking like 6-8 more PPG at peak Scottie-levels of efficiency, which isn't good.

Again, rim pressure to create passes and drawn fouls, it's nice, but there is some point where you don't want to run volume scoring through an inefficient player if you don't have to. We're going to be notably better on offense just by getting healthy and introducing BI, so I don't really see the motivation to get Ja at this point.

Maybe if we were poised to be an actual contender but just needed a slashing guard to complete the picture, it would make some sense, but we aren't there.

[Scase]

Fair enough about the efficiency of getting to the rim, but overall Ja both finishes at a higher rate and has a much higher FTr and a better FT%, I imagine if we looked at points generated from drives, Ja would eclipse RJ to a comical degree.

It's quite possible, yes. Don't know that it matters too much, given that he shoots more and isn't much more efficient, though.

As for your comment about 2023, not sure I follow. He put up 26/6/8 on 55.7% TS% on his worst year of the last 4. That would be both significantly more production and the most efficient year of RJs career when ignoring the 32 game outlier.

55.7% TS is 1% different than what RJ managed this year, and like I said, was still -2.4% rTS. It's nothing to crow about. He shot a lot, and put up volume as a result. You were specifically discussing "decent efficiency," and I noted that it really wasn't.

I'm not saying he's the most efficient guy in the world, but comparing his efficiency and production to RJ just shows a glaring gap.

And my counter is that it's been several years since there was a noteworthy gap in efficiency, and even the space to which he took it in 2023 was inefficient, and not a super-hot core strategy. We will get better scoring efficiency at volume out of BI.

He makes sense on the roster, his fit is not an issue. Ja would make sense on most rosters, suggesting otherwise is just absurd.

I don't know that he makes a lot of sense on this roster, to be honest. The notion of a hard-driving guard is good, but there's just so much other stuff going on that his individual fit really doesn't. Culturally, in terms of the utility of his scoring volume, etc, etc.

That 1% difference is ignoring the fact that he put up 5ppg more, efficiency goes down as volume goes up, we both know this. If he was putting up the same 21ppg on 1% better efficiency it's nothing to shake a stick at, but when you put up 5ppg more, it's noteworthy.

Even this year, he put up 2ppg more at 2% better than RJ. The TS% gap isn't massive, although 2% is still pretty big, rather that it's efficiency and production.

And for direct comparisons to RJ, why are we all ok assuming RJ will have a spike in efficiency with this roster being healthier and him being spoon fed better shots, but that it wouldn't ring true for Ja as well? He has at least shown he can an average to above average efficiency player on high volume putting up 27ppg across an entire season, which means the possibility to replicate it is there.

As for the fit discussion, I should've been clearer. The scenario I am talking about, would be removing IQ/RJ and replacing them with Ja/Ochai. That is an objectively better team with similar fit issues, but with a substantially more talented player. I fail to see how fit is an issue there. The reason why RJs fit is poor, is because the few things he does well are grossly overshadowed by the things he does poorly. Ja has holes, but his holes are smaller and fewer, and his strengths are substantially better.

As always, cost is what it comes down to, but I don't see Ja commanding 4 picks and productive players. His cultural issues are a different story that I think are moot, I don't suspect he's going to be waving guns around canada.

[WWSRD]

Given his injury and legal issues, there needs to be a 25% discount on his price. So many red flags.

[tsherkin]

That 1% difference is ignoring the fact that he put up 5ppg more, efficiency goes down as volume goes up, we both know this.

After a given threshold. Not at Morant's offensive load. Like, I cede that he's more aggressive, which has a certain measure of value, but when you're just creating the same crap shots we're getting anyway, it matters only so much.

And for direct comparisons to RJ, why are we all ok assuming RJ will have a spike in efficiency with this roster being healthier and him being spoon fed better shots, but that it wouldn't ring true for Ja as well? He has at least shown he can an average to above average efficiency player on high volume putting up 27ppg across an entire season, which means the possibility to replicate it is there.

I don't think Ja would be more efficient on our team. He isn't going to finish at the rim a lot better and he can't really shoot, so he wouldn't be doing better on those looks. RJ having a spike in his efficiency is more about completely eliminating shots between 3 feet and the 3pt line, as much as anything else. Even at below-average finishing from there and weak FT%, you shoot enough of those and you score at higher efficiency. Kind of like Shaq, in a way. Obviously, though, we're counting on the ability to ratchet back his volume and enable that shot distribution due to Ingram and Quick.

As always, cost is what it comes down to, but I don't see Ja commanding 4 picks and productive players. His cultural issues are a different story that I think are moot, I don't suspect he's going to be waving guns around canada.

He's a dumb-ass, there's no telling what he might do here. Or on the road.

I'm not a fan. I don't think we have any serious positive trajectory with him.

[Dalek]

If Toronto gets Ja Morant that is a steal. I just don't see how Memphis moves him unless they get a star player back because who does Memphis sell tickets for? JJJ and a bunch of youth? It might make sense if they go full rebuild.

If Ja Morant comes to Toronto we now have one of the most exciting guards in the game at age 25 signed for three years.

If people see a down trend for him consider what Memphis did last year to overhaul their system. It made no sense for Ja:

“Morant played his entire career for Jenkins. And remained supportive of the coach up to the end, a league source said. Morant did not, however, like the new offense,” the outlet revealed. “… When he’s been on the court, according to a league source, Morant has complained about the new scheme. Which takes the ball out of his hands and removes the screens he likes to use as a ball handler to make plays.

https://sportsnaut.com/nba/nba-rumors-ja-morant-role-in-memphis-grizzlies-firing-head-coach-emerges/

The guy has been an MVP candidate type of player a couple years and is a league superstar even without a super reliable three ball.

If I am not mistaken, Toronto creates the lowest amount of rim pressure in the league. Even if Ja doesn't add shooting, it redefines the offense.

Darko even has coached him before, so he even comes into a situation knowing his coach.

I'd do the trade ten times our ten, if we can retain Scottie, Ingram and Poeltl.

[tsherkin]

If Toronto gets Ja Morant that is a steal.

Not in a vacuum. It depends heavily on what they send out. It's probably moot, this is probably one of those nonsense rumors anyway, though.


If Ja Morant comes to Toronto we now have one of the most exciting guards in the game at age 25 signed for three years.

The guy has been an MVP candidate type of player a couple years and is a league superstar even without a super reliable three ball.

There isn't really a defensible pro-Morant MVP argument for any season he's played, and he hasn't played at a level which would merit that in any reasonable season. Like, might he have pulled it off in 2011 when Rose won a voter fatigue MVP? Possibly, but that was a crap MVP award and that would be the apex of Ja's consideration.

I'd do the trade ten times our ten, if we can retain Scottie, Ingram and Poeltl.

Odds of that happening seem pretty low, if such a trade were to occur. I doubt they'd just want RJ and nonsense back, or something similar.

[PushDaRock]

Fair enough about the efficiency of getting to the rim, but overall Ja both finishes at a higher rate and has a much higher FTr and a better FT%, I imagine if we looked at points generated from drives, Ja would eclipse RJ to a comical degree.

It's quite possible, yes. Don't know that it matters too much, given that he shoots more and isn't much more efficient, though.

As for your comment about 2023, not sure I follow. He put up 26/6/8 on 55.7% TS% on his worst year of the last 4. That would be both significantly more production and the most efficient year of RJs career when ignoring the 32 game outlier.

55.7% TS is 1% different than what RJ managed this year, and like I said, was still -2.4% rTS. It's nothing to crow about. He shot a lot, and put up volume as a result. You were specifically discussing "decent efficiency," and I noted that it really wasn't.

I'm not saying he's the most efficient guy in the world, but comparing his efficiency and production to RJ just shows a glaring gap.

And my counter is that it's been several years since there was a noteworthy gap in efficiency, and even the space to which he took it in 2023 was inefficient, and not a super-hot core strategy. We will get better scoring efficiency at volume out of BI.

He makes sense on the roster, his fit is not an issue. Ja would make sense on most rosters, suggesting otherwise is just absurd.

I don't know that he makes a lot of sense on this roster, to be honest. The notion of a hard-driving guard is good, but there's just so much other stuff going on that his individual fit really doesn't. Culturally, in terms of the utility of his scoring volume, etc, etc.

That 1% difference is ignoring the fact that he put up 5ppg more, efficiency goes down as volume goes up, we both know this. If he was putting up the same 21ppg on 1% better efficiency it's nothing to shake a stick at, but when you put up 5ppg more, it's noteworthy.

Even this year, he put up 2ppg more at 2% better than RJ. The TS% gap isn't massive, although 2% is still pretty big, rather that it's efficiency and production.

And for direct comparisons to RJ, why are we all ok assuming RJ will have a spike in efficiency with this roster being healthier and him being spoon fed better shots, but that it wouldn't ring true for Ja as well? He has at least shown he can an average to above average efficiency player on high volume putting up 27ppg across an entire season, which means the possibility to replicate it is there.

As for the fit discussion, I should've been clearer. The scenario I am talking about, would be removing IQ/RJ and replacing them with Ja/Ochai. That is an objectively better team with similar fit issues, but with a substantially more talented player. I fail to see how fit is an issue there. The reason why RJs fit is poor, is because the few things he does well are grossly overshadowed by the things he does poorly. Ja has holes, but his holes are smaller and fewer, and his strengths are substantially better.

As always, cost is what it comes down to, but I don't see Ja commanding 4 picks and productive players. His cultural issues are a different story that I think are moot, I don't suspect he's going to be waving guns around canada.

Career:

Jak doesn't shoot 3's
Scottie 1.1 makes per game on 30%
Ingram 1.4 makes per game on 36%
Ochai 1.2 makes per game on 35%
Ja 1.4 makes per game on 32%

How does putting out a lineup like this seem like a good idea to you?

[Dalek]

If Toronto gets Ja Morant that is a steal.

Not in a vacuum. It depends heavily on what they send out. It's probably moot, this is probably one of those nonsense rumors anyway, though.


If Ja Morant comes to Toronto we now have one of the most exciting guards in the game at age 25 signed for three years.

The guy has been an MVP candidate type of player a couple years and is a league superstar even without a super reliable three ball.

There isn't really a defensible pro-Morant MVP argument for any season he's played, and he hasn't played at a level which would merit that in any reasonable season. Like, might he have pulled it off in 2011 when Rose won a voter fatigue MVP? Possibly, but that was a crap MVP award and that would be the apex of Ja's consideration.

I'd do the trade ten times our ten, if we can retain Scottie, Ingram and Poeltl.

Odds of that happening seem pretty low, if such a trade were to occur. I doubt they'd just want RJ and nonsense back, or something similar.

Morant had MVP votes in 2022 (12) and 2021 (7) so media analysts felt he was pretty important. He also made All-NBA second team in 2021.

My argument although not rock solid is those two years he averaged 26 and 27 PPG and somewhere around 7 assists which is a special tier for me. Ja is an offensive engine and still just entering his prime.

Ja regardless of whether you think he is an efficient basketball player, is a singular player that can be a box office star and for that alone Toronto should look into it. Winning titles are no easy feet, but being a boring team, middling or worse team is no value to the city.

In the end you are probably right this is a junk non-story, but I still think it's a pretty crazy take to not think Ja is worth trading for.

[Scase]

That 1% difference is ignoring the fact that he put up 5ppg more, efficiency goes down as volume goes up, we both know this.

After a given threshold. Not at Morant's offensive load. Like, I cede that he's more aggressive, which has a certain measure of value, but when you're just creating the same crap shots we're getting anyway, it matters only so much.

And for direct comparisons to RJ, why are we all ok assuming RJ will have a spike in efficiency with this roster being healthier and him being spoon fed better shots, but that it wouldn't ring true for Ja as well? He has at least shown he can an average to above average efficiency player on high volume putting up 27ppg across an entire season, which means the possibility to replicate it is there.

I don't think Ja would be more efficient on our team. He isn't going to finish at the rim a lot better and he can't really shoot, so he wouldn't be doing better on those looks. RJ having a spike in his efficiency is more about completely eliminating shots between 3 feet and the 3pt line, as much as anything else. Even at below-average finishing from there and weak FT%, you shoot enough of those and you score at higher efficiency. Kind of like Shaq, in a way. Obviously, though, we're counting on the ability to ratchet back his volume and enable that shot distribution due to Ingram and Quick.

As always, cost is what it comes down to, but I don't see Ja commanding 4 picks and productive players. His cultural issues are a different story that I think are moot, I don't suspect he's going to be waving guns around canada.

He's a dumb-ass, there's no telling what he might do here. Or on the road.

I'm not a fan. I don't think we have any serious positive trajectory with him.

TBF I don't think we have any serious positive trajectory with this team, so I can't see how replacing RJ with a better player would make it worse lol, but it is all about cost.

[tsherkin]

Morant had MVP votes in 2022 (12) and 2021 (7) so media analysts felt he was pretty important.

And Rose WON the MVP, what's your point?

My argument although not rock solid is those two years he averaged 26 and 27 PPG and somewhere around 7 assists which is a special tier for me. Ja is an offensive engine and still just entering his prime.

Still can't shoot. Needs to figure out how to score better, too. Volume stats mean only so much.

Ja regardless of whether you think he is an efficient basketball player, is a singular player that can be a box office star and for that alone Toronto should look into it. Winning titles are no easy feet, but being a boring team, middling or worse team is no value to the city.

In the end you are probably right this is a junk non-story, but I still think it's a pretty crazy take to not think Ja is worth trading for.

I look at it like he doesn't really solve our problems, he's likely to be parked on the bench for 20+ games a year, and he's only going to get worse, so it doesn't make a lot of sense. I'd rather not go after an anchor weight just because he's exciting right now, before his style of play and perpetual injuries take away his dunking and driving ability piece by piece.

[Zeno]

Didn’t Dillion Brooks claim to have never seen the Noah system before team Canada training camp and then proceeded to shoot lights out. Maybe the Grizz still don’t have it. Lol

[mihaic]

If Ja is cheap because he is as badly inefficient as people portray him, and considering his bad reputation off court, he should be available for IQ + one of Dick or Walter.

I don't think that's the case though.

[tsherkin]

If Ja is cheap because he is as badly inefficient as people portray him, and considering his bad reputation off court, he should be available for IQ + one of Dick or Walter.

I don't think that's the case though.

If the trade was IQ and Walter, I'd think about it. We'd be losing a shooter and gaining like 60 games of a guy who can drive and pass, which is something.

it IS worth remembering that Morant has had exactly one season where he would have been considering league-average or more efficient compared to league-average in the 2021 season and has only a single season of more than 9 games north of 56.3% TS. He was 33rd in the league in O-EPM last year, with mildly negative offensive eRAPTOR just to toss in some extra numbers. We already have a dearth of efficient scoring, so adding a volume scorer who is usually inefficient isn't a hot plan, not unless we intend to have him shoot less and focus more on distributing... which is possible, but again kind of limits his offensive productivity. And then that clashes with what we want out of Scottie, because his ONLY offensive contributions of note right now are offensive rebounding and his passing, in the main.

We're not looking at an offensive savior, not for the number of games he plays per game and with his limitations.

Obviously, his raw scoring efficiency isn't the sole consideration.

Last year for 50 games, Ja was 6th in the league in drives per game (and only 0.3 behind the two guys ahead of him), and drew fouls quite well. And even with the offense moving away from him, he still passed reasonably well. He can't really shoot for beans, and his proportion of shots at the rim sharply declined after 2022, but is still north of 20%, which is pretty solid. And he MIGHT bounce back to 28% or so if he had a semi-healthy season, though with his height and playstyle, that's a dubious notion. He's definitely a guy who creates north-south pressure, which has value.

The question is, if we've already got issues with shooting, and we've already got issues with health, is it really worthwhile to attach to a guy who is likely going to continue to downswing, given his age and player model?

67 (72 or 73 G season, though), 63 (72 G season), 57 (back to 82), 61, 9 and 50 games played, just for some context. Obviously some of that was suspensions and the like. He had 8- and 25-game suspensions in there. He had the subluxated shoulder and surgery in 2024. Wear and tear on a small guy who drives and doesn't shoot well is significant, and doesn't generally improve much as they age.

So there's a lot going into that. I think these are bunk rumors like everything else and that Memphis is going to want some kind of real value more than we should be willing to pay for him, though, because he IS a career ~ 23/5/7 guy with a couple AS appearances under his belt. I'm not really confident that they're going to sell super low on him just because he's a bit of a dumbass and doesn't shoot well. Their GM has to want to try and get SOMEthing of value for a guy who has theoretically been the face of the franchise for the last little while, for good or for ill. Otherwise they're literally just giving up and blowing it up for picks and short/expiring contracts.