Grizzlies general manager Zach Kleiman is shutting down any Ja Morant rumors. 

One day after talk emerged of Morant potentially being the next NBA superstar on the move, Kleiman called “nonsense” on any notion the guard could be leaving Memphis any time soon. 

“I can’t blame other ‘executives’ for fantasizing about us trading Ja,” Kleiman said, via The Daily Memphian’s Drew Hill. “But it’s just that – fantasy. We are not trading Ja. Continue to underestimate Ja, this team and this city, and we will let our performance on the floor speak for itself. I’m not going to give this nonsense further oxygen and look forward to getting back to basketball.”

The possibility of the 25-year-old two-time All-Star bolting from the Grizzlies after a busy trade deadline that saw Luka Doncic, Jimmy Butler and De’Aaron Fox, among others, switch teams was floated by Howard Beck on “The Ringer NBA Show” podcast. 

“I’m constantly checking in with executives around trade deadline about like, OK, what we saw, what we didn’t see, what’s next,” Beck said. “Somebody out of the blue said, ‘Keep an eye on Ja [Morant] this summer.’”

Morant is averaging 20.7 points, 7.4 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game in 32 games for the 36-18 Grizzlies, who currently own the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference. 

Numerous injuries and off-the-court troubles have limited Morant to 289 games throughout his six-year career.

Over the past two seasons, he’s played in just 41 of the Grizzlies’ 136 regular season games.

Despite having one of the best young rosters in the NBA, Memphis has won just one playoff series during the Morant era – a first-round win over the Timberwolves in 2022. 

If the Grizzlies fall short of a deep postseason run again, Beck said, that could spell trouble for the franchise. 

“I’m just kind of keeping an eye on if [the Grizzlies] were to flame out early,” Beck said.