If Ja Morant ends up getting traded, he'd better hope it's to the Miami Heat. Considering what appears "off" with Morant, the Heat may be the only potential landing spot that could "fix" his fatal flaw and get him back on a Hall of Fame track.
Morant's talent can't be questioned at this point. In a vacuum, he's one of the most talented point guards in the league. Even though it seems that he hasn't been himself lately, there's still reason to believe that he can work his way back to an All-Star form.
But that's under the assumption that his biggest "flaw" right now is his effort. Because if the talent isn't in question, you'd have to jump to effort, scheme, and coaching as potential issues for him. That's where the Heat can be a clear answer for him.
The Heat are a great landing spot for Ja Morant
In Miami, Morant would theoretically put him in a position to quiet each of those concerns.
The Heat's "culture" would push Morant to the point where "effort" would be a baseline, and Erik Spoelstra would likely put Morant in the best position to succeed from a schematic perspective.
Spo would also represent the best coach that Morant has ever been around.
It's far from a foregone conclusion that Morant would immediately get back on track, but if there's any team that can help him bounce back, it's the Heat.
The Heat's interest in Ja Morant is complicated
Unfortunately for Morant, there's no guarantee that the Heat will aggressively pursue him leading up to the trade deadline.
While there was certainly some heavy smoke surrounding a potential Heat pursuit of Morant a few days ago, ESPN's Brian Windhorst threw cold water on that recently, stating that Miami is unlikely to make a move that will mess with their cap space over the next couple of seasons.
Whether or not that holds true remains to be seen, but there are other reasons why the Heat may not be 100 percent ready to go all-in for Morant.
The biggest reason revolves around the idea that the Heat may be preparing for a run at Giannis Antetokounmpo during the offseason. In that scenario, the Heat is going to need every last asset available to them.
That means it would be somewhat foolish for the Heat to trade anything of substance for Morant if it costs them a shot at Giannis in a few months.
And that's where the stalemate stands between Morant and the Heat.
In theory, the Heat and Morant would certainly benefit from each other, but the timing may not be right for either of them. Make no mistake, if Morant is going to return to form, there's no question that the Heat may be the perfect partner to help get him there.
The problem is, it just may not be that likely at this point.