Southwest Notes: Morant, Murray, Eason, Rockets

Grizzlies point guard Yes Morantwho was ruled out for the team’s game at San Antonio on Friday night due to soreness in his right foot, is no longer eligible for major award consideration this season, writes Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal.

Morant has averaged 21.4 points, 7.5 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game this season for the Grizzlies, who are in third place in the Western Conference standings, but Friday’s game will be the 18th he has missed this season season. That means he will fall short of the 65-game threshold required to qualify for season-ending awards, including All-NBA.

Morant made the All-NBA Second Team in 2022, but a suspension related to his off-court behavior derailed his chances to repeat the feat in 2023, and he appeared in just nine games last season due to another suspension and a season-ending shoulder injury.

Here’s more from the Southwest:

• Dejounte Murray‘s 30-point performance Wednesday in a win over Dallas was a reminder why Pelicans targeted him and gave up a pair of first-round picks — along with former lottery picks Dyson Daniels and rotation big man Larry Nance Jr. – to acquire him last free time, writes Rod Walker of NOLA.com. It’s been a challenging year so far for Murray, one of several key Pelicans players to miss time due to injury — he broke his hand on opening night and the team was 4-14 when he returned. “I’m trying to get my fun back,” Murray said. “It’s not about the team. Just dealing with a lot. It’s been hard for me. I’m a strong person, but at the same time I’m human. I think sometimes I can forget that.”
• Although they did not get the victory, Rockets got a boost on Thursday as a forward Tari Eason played for the first time in over a month after missing 13 games with a lower left leg injury, notes Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required). Eason was on a minute restriction of 20-25 minutes per game. head coach Ime Udoka. He ended up playing 24 minutes and didn’t miss a beat in his return, scoring 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting.
• Kelly Iko and John Hollinger of The Athletic explore some possible trade opportunities for Rocketsdiscuss why Jimmy Butler probably doesn’t make sense for Houston and is reconsidering De’Aaron Fox would be a good fit if Sacramento made him available. While a significant in-season move seems unlikely, Hollinger points out Malcolm Brogdon or Chris Boucher as players on expiring deals that might make sense as deadline targets for the Rockets.