Ja Morant Traded to Trail Blazers. What Memphis and Portland Just Did to Their Futures.
Ja Morant is a Portland Trail Blazer. The Grizzlies traded their two-time All-Star Monday afternoon for Jerami Grant and Kris Murray, finalizing a deal that closes the book on a chaotic seven-year run in Memphis.
This is a stunner on a couple of levels. The Grizzlies were not openly shopping Morant a month ago. Portland was not on the short list of teams expected to chase him. And the return Memphis got, while solid, is well below what a healthy version of Morant would have commanded two years ago.
Let’s start with what Memphis is signaling. By moving Morant for a 32-year-old forward making $30 million and a younger forward who has flashed potential, the Grizzlies are essentially declaring the Ja era over. The combination of injuries, off-court incidents, and a roster that never quite developed around him pushed Memphis to take this exit ramp.
This is also a vote of confidence in the rest of the Grizzlies core. Jaren Jackson Jr. just signed a max extension. Desmond Bane is locked in. Zach Edey enters his second NBA season as a player Memphis wants to build the offense through. There is a real argument that the Grizzlies are better positioned right now without the noise around Morant.
For Portland, this is the move owner Tom Dundon has been hinting at since he took over. The Blazers wanted a star. They had the assets to overpay for one. And in Morant they get a 26-year-old All-Star whose ceiling is still higher than anyone else on the roster.
The fit with Scoot Henderson is the obvious question. Both are score-first guards. Both want to operate in pick-and-rolls. Both are best with the ball in their hands. Portland’s coaching staff, led by recently hired Micah Nori, will have to make the spacing work and probably move one of them off the ball in heavy minutes.
The Donovan Clingan, Toumani Camara, Shaedon Sharpe, Henderson, Morant starting five is intriguing. It’s long. It’s athletic. It can switch one through four. The problem is the shooting profile, which is shaky outside of Sharpe and a still-developing Camara.
The trade also has fallout. The Blazers are now unlikely to retain veteran center Robert Williams III, according to multiple reports. Williams was their best defensive presence behind Clingan, and moving on from him is a calculated bet that Clingan can handle a heavier minutes load.
For Morant, this is a fresh start. The Grizzlies’ fan base loved him, but the off-court issues turned the relationship sour. Portland gives him a smaller market, a quieter environment, and a coaching staff willing to build around his strengths.
Sacramento was reportedly the runner-up. The Kings had interest before the trade was finalized but could not match the Blazers’ package. That is a story for another day, but it tells you how many teams were sniffing around once Memphis opened the door.
This trade reshapes both franchises. Memphis is moving on. Portland is going all in. The next year will reveal which side made the right call.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
