Heat's perfect disgruntled star trade target may finally be emerging

As things continue to go south for the Memphis Grizzlies, Ja Morant could finally emerge as the perfect disgruntled star trade target that the Miami Heat have been waiting for. The Heat have gotten off to an unexpectedly strong start to the season, but there's no question they'd jump at the opportunity to land a star player. Morant could be angling his way out of Memphis with his latest antics.

When asked what went wrong in the Grizzlies' Friday night loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, in which they blew a double-digit lead in the second half, Morant told reporters to "ask the coaching staff." He was clearly upset and kept telling reporter to "ask the coaching staff" why that was so.

Perhaps the biggest headline takeaway from Morant's explosive comments was his final one, in which, when he asked what could've been done differently, he said, "according to the coaching staff, don't play me...that's what the message was after."

Morant was clearly not into the game, and even physically appeared distant during one of the timeouts.

The opportunity could be coming for the Heat to pounce

I wouldn't say this is the final shoe to drop before Morant begins to try and force his way out of Memphis, but it's pretty clear there's at least some schism beginning to form. Perhaps there's some salvaging this marriage, and maybe we're making more of this situation than is actually the case, but it's certainly something to keep a close eye on.

The Heat will certainly be doing so.

And, theoretically speaking, if Morant did explore a potential trade out of Memphis, the Heat would be a great landing spot. In theory, he's exactly what the Heat could be missing in the backcourt.

Morant would be a great option next to Bam Adebayo and would offer the playmaking ability from the point guard position that the Heat is lacking.

It's probably way too early to try and predict what a potential trade between the two teams would look like, but the Heat would likely be on the short list of teams that should be willing to go all in if a player like Morant were to hit the trade market.

Again, I'm not sure if this is indeed the first domino that the Heat's front office has been waiting for to get back in the whale-hunting game, but it's probably already on their radar. It's one situation that Heat fans should also be keeping a close eye on over the next few weeks, especially if the Grizzlies can't right the ship.