Ja Morant is on the move.
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the Grizzlies are trading the two-time All-Star to the Trail Blazers on Monday in exchange for forwards Jerami Grant and Kris Murray. It ends Morant’s seven-year tenure in Memphis with a potential new start in Portland.
The Grizzlies selected Morant with the second pick in the 2020 NBA draft and he quickly became the franchise’s star player. He led the franchise to back-to-back Southwest Division titles in 2022 and ‘23, though the team failed to go beyond the Western Conference semifinals.
He broke out during the 2021–22 season, in which he averaged 27.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, 6.7 assists and 1.2 steals per game. He was named the NBA’s Most Improved Player and earned second-team All-NBA honors. He followed that in 2022–23 by averaging 26.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, 8.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game and earning his second All-Star nod. Then the problems came.
In 2023, associates of Morant had an altercation with Pacers players after a game on January 29. The NBA launched an investigation that March after Morant displayed a gun during an Instagram live video he filmed at a Colorado nightclub. The league subsequently suspended him for eight games. On May 14, two months after that suspension, he was suspended by the Grizzlies for posting another Instagram video while flashing a gun. On June 16, he was suspended for 25 games.
Morant returned to action in December 2023 after serving the suspension, but was only active for nine games as he needed season-ending shoulder surgery in early January.
After the string of controversies and injuries over the last few years, entering this offseason, it was clear Morant’s time in Memphis was over. He only played 20 games during the 2025–26 season and averaged 19.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, 8.1 assists and 1.0 steals in 28.5 minutes per game.
He is still only 26 and wildly talented, but he and the Grizzlies needed to part ways.
This is a buy-low deal for the Trail Blazers, though Morant is owed a ton of money. He’ll make $42.2 million next season and is due to receive $44.9 million for the 2028–29 campaign.
Memphis receives a solid veteran and a former first-round pick in return for Morant. Grant averaged 18.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game last season while shooting 38.9% from three-point range. The 32-year-old is heading into the final two seasons of a five-year, $160 million deal.
Murray, the 23rd pick in the 2023 NBA draft, is a reserve wing who averaged 5.8 points and 3.6 rebounds in 57 games this season. He shot 27.9% from three-point range and will be entering the final year of his rookie contract next season. He'll cost $5.3 million.
The upside for Portland is pretty clear here. Morant is still young, and if he gets it together and adjusts to playing more off-ball, he’d pair incredibly well with star forward Deni Avdija. Add in center Donovan Clingan and the Blazers would have a young core with a high ceiling to build around.
There is a ton of risk with this move, but the money is basically equal, and Grant wasn’t going to be a long-term difference-maker for the franchise. It’s a deal that makes sense for both sides.
Grading the Ja Morant acquisition for the Trail Blazers
There are very limited ways in which an NBA franchise can acquire a star player, and far fewer that don’t involve giving up significant assets.
Just a few short years ago, Morant was one of the league’s brightest young stars who was the No. 2 pick in the 2019 draft and an All-Star in ‘22 and ‘23, winning Rookie of the Year (‘20), Most Improved Player (‘22) and All-NBA second-team honors (‘22) along the way. As outlined above, he hasn’t lived up to the billing in the years since—both on- and off-court. The low price paid by the Blazers in the deal shows just how far Morant’s stock has fallen.
While he hasn’t looked like the same player even when he is healthy and active, at just 26 years old, there is always the chance that Morant bounces back. Even if he only recovers 85% of the explosiveness he had in his early 20s, he would be a very dangerous player in the lane. We’ve seen plenty of guards improve as shooters as they progress in their careers, and Morant could certainly follow in that direction.
The fit is very awkward for Portland though, at least as currently constituted. The Blazers are ready to reintroduce franchise legend Damian Lillard into the lineup after his recovery from the torn Achilles tendon he suffered while a member of the Bucks in the 2025 playoffs. The team also has another accomplished veteran guard in Jrue Holiday and a young project player in Scoot Henderson, who flashed down the stretch last season, including a 31-point outing against the Spurs in the first round of the NBA playoffs.
Of course, there is no guarantee that Henderson and Holiday begin the season as Blazers, and the deal for Morant makes more sense if Portland is going for a big swing—Celtics on line one, perhaps?—after their rumored interest in Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Even if the Blazers clear the deck in the backcourt with another deal, adding another ball-dominant player to a lineup that already features Lillard and the team’s young star forward Avdija, a player who needs the ball in his hands for maximum effectiveness, the fit here is far from ideal.
Turn on highlights from Morant’s 2022 season and it is hard to blame Portland for taking a swing here, especially when the major cost was a bad Grant contract that isn’t expiring until after next season. That said, the deal will require new coach Micah Nori to get pretty creative, and the hope that the presence of positive influences like Lillard and, if he remains in Portland, Holiday can benefit Morant moving forward.
Trail Blazers grade: B-
Grading the Morant-for-Grant and Murray swap for the Grizzlies
Memphis had to move Morant. We all knew that was priority No. 1 for the franchise coming into the offseason, but this is about as clear an example of selling low as you’ll ever find. Morant was once one of the league’s shining young stars and has since turned into a cautionary tale. Had the Grizzlies bit the bullet and tried to move him two years ago when he was twice suspended, they likely would have at least had some draft picks to show for it. This deal falls flat.
Grant is a useful veteran forward who averaged nearly 19 points per game last season while shooting 38.9% from three-point range. After selecting Cameron Boozer with the third pick in this year’s draft, it’s clear the franchise is being turned over to him. The 32-year-old Grant is owed $34.2 million next season and holds a $36.4 million player option for 2028–29 that he will certainly opt into. That’s a lot of salary for a franchise rebuilding around a rookie.
Memphis may look to flip Grant to a team that misses out on its top targets this summer or attempt to move him at the trade deadline. Either way, it’s unlikely he has a long future wth the franchise.
Murray is also unlikely to find a long-term home in Memphis. The former first-round pick will be entering his fourth season and has never made much of an impact. He’s 25 and heading into the final year of his rookie contract. This season, he averaged 5.8 points and 3.6 rebounds in 23.4 minutes over 57 games. He’s a 6'8" wing who is a solid defender with some versatility, but is a career 25.9% shooter from three-point range. There isn’t much room for guys with that profile in the NBA these days.
In the end, the Grizzlies needed to move off of Morant’s massive contract given his diminishing production, injuries and repeated controversies on and off the court. The team waited too long to deal its problem child, and the return reflects his wildly diminished value around the league.
Grizzlies grade: C+
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