Ja Morant will have a new home for the 2026-27 season, as the Memphis Grizzlies traded the star guard to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for forward Jerami Grant and forward Kris Murray, the teams announced Monday.
Last season, Morant appeared in only 20 games with the Grizzlies due to injuries. Over the past three seasons, due to injuries and suspensions, Morant has played in only 79 regular-season games.
However, this is a new beginning for the 26-year-old Morant, and fortunately for him, he is still young enough to make things happen and turn things around.
This could be a sneaky good move for the Blazers. If the seven-year veteran can stay healthy, he can play at a fairly high level. In the 20 games he played last season, Morant averaged 19.5 points and 8.1 assists per game.
With the addition of Morant, Portland has a lot of quality guards on its roster, including Damian Lillard, Jrue Holiday, Scoot Henderson, and Shaedon Sharpe; don’t be surprised if this team makes another move.
Morant, a two-time All-Star, has appeared in 327 career games (325 starts) with Memphis, averaging 22.4 points, 7.4 assists, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.0 steals in 31.7 minutes per game.
He has earned NBA All-Star honors twice (2022, 2023), was named to the All-NBA Second Team in 2022, and received the NBA Most Improved Player Award following the 2021-22 season.
Originally selected by Memphis with the second overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft out of Murray State, Morant was named the NBA Rookie of the Year in 2019-20. He has helped lead the Grizzlies to four postseason appearances.
Last season, Grant appeared in 56 games (38 starts) for Portland, averaging 18.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.1 assists in 29.7 minutes per game while shooting 45.3 percent from the field and 38.9 percent from three-point range.
Grant appeared in 221 games (202 starts) over four seasons with Portland after being acquired from Detroit prior to the 2022-23 season.
Murray appeared in 57 games (15 starts) during the 2025-26 season, averaging 5.8 points and 3.6 rebounds in 23.4 minutes per game. Originally selected by Portland with the 23rd overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft out of Iowa, Murray appeared in 188 games over three seasons with the Trail Blazers.
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