Ja Morant’s absence from his exit interview led many to believe the end was near. It’s important to note that the Memphis Grizzlies couldn’t find a market fit for him the last time. However, after another poor season, coinciding with the exit of former franchise player Jaren Jackson Jr., the front office’s plan began to become clearer. Now, the Grizzlies have traded Ja Morant to the Portland Trail Blazers, ending his seven-year stint with the team that drafted him.
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The Grizzlies traded the two-time All-Star to Portland for Jerami Grant and Kris Murray. Interestingly, Memphis has traded all three franchise cornerstones: Morant, Desmond Bane, and Jackson Jr., since being swept by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round of the 2025 playoffs. Portland, meanwhile, acquired a player that Yahoo Sports analyst Kevin O’Connor has identified as part of a larger strategy.
“Acquiring Ja Morant feels like a set-up trade to me given all the Jaylen Brown rumors in Portland,” O’Connor wrote on X. “Now the Blazers could feel more comfortable sending Jrue Holiday, Scoot Henderson, and Shaedon Sharpe with draft picks to Boston for Jaylen Brown. We’ll see what happens.”
Acquiring Ja Morant feels like a set-up trade to me given all the Jaylen Brown rumors in Portland. Now the Blazers could feel more comfortable sending Jrue Holiday, Scoot Henderson, and Shaedon Sharpe with draft picks to Boston for Jaylen Brown. We'll see what happens.
BREAKING: The Memphis Grizzlies are trading two-time NBA All-Star Ja Morant to the Portland Trail Blazers for Jerami Grant and Kris Murray, sources tell ESPN.
Before the Morant trade, Grant’s $34.2 million salary was viewed as the contract most likely to be included in a deal that required substantial matching salary heading out of the building. Now, with Grant gone to Memphis, the Blazers have cleared the largest anchor from their books and replaced him with a player whose contract, two years at $42 million and $45 million, respectively, is tradeable and whose basketball value, however diminished, remains above zero.
Morant arrives in Portland with a lot to prove. He’ll join a backcourt that includes Damian Lillard and Jrue Holiday. The Blazers went 42-40 last season and made the playoffs for the first time since 2021. However, with Morant, Holiday, Henderson, and Sharpe, a four-guard setup is now in place, making follow-up trades not just possible but structurally necessary.
The Jaylen Brown deal… what a Portland package would actually look like
The trade idea: Jrue Holiday, Shaedon Sharpe, Scoot Henderson, and draft compensation going to Boston; Jaylen Brown and Sam Hauser moving to Portland. Works financially without requiring additional teams or any complex multi-way structures. Here’s how.
Holiday at $34.8 million, Sharpe at $20.1 million, and Henderson at $13.6 million, contracts that can be combined to match Brown and Sam Hauser’s $67.9 million heading to Portland. Boston receives $68.4 million in return, a near-exact match that requires no third team.
O’Connor previously reported Portland as one of several teams still actively involved in Brown trade conversations, alongside the Detroit Pistons and Cleveland Cavaliers. The Blazers are now re-entering the pursuit from a stronger position.
Although Insider Shams Charania reports that the Blazers are signaling they’re “done” and “out” on Brown, O’Connor doesn’t “totally buy it.” Brown replacing the pack of guards in Portland will leave them with commendable depth. Damian Lillard / Ja Morant, Jaylen Brown / Blake Wesley, Deni Avdija / Vit Krejci, Toumani Camara / Matisse Thybulle, Donovan Clingan / Robert Williams (needs to be re-signed).
From Boston’s perspective, Holiday, at $34.8 million, provides an experienced defensive guard who has already won a championship with the Celtics and deeply understands Joe Mazzulla’s system. He can slot seamlessly into the Jayson Tatum era as a two-way starter who doesn’t demand the ball. Sharpe, at 23, adds youth and upside. Henderson, despite an inconsistent start to his NBA career, remains a high-ceiling athlete on a manageable contract.
Celtic president Brad Stevens has been operating under a mandate to reshape the roster this summer. Tatum enters the final two years of his deal, and the franchise cannot afford another first-round exit like the one against Philadelphia last season.
How do the Trail Blazers feel about signing Ja Morant?
Setting aside the criticism around Ja Morant’s name, Jason Quick of The Athletic explained that “the Blazers believe the four guards can co-exist, in large part because the team believes Holiday can alleviate the redundancy by playing him off the ball as a shooting guard or small forward.” Shams Charania called this move a “high upside swing” for the Trail Blazers and also revealed that Morant is “excited” about the trade.
This move makes sense because it gives Morant a chance to clear his name in Portland. Due to multiple suspensions (including the Instagram live video gun incident) and injuries, the 26-year-old has played in only 79 games over the past three seasons. But when he does play, Morant can contribute around 25 points and be a strong playmaker. This will greatly help Damian Lillard, who is 36 and recovering from a major Achilles tendon tear, as well as Deni Avdija.
Yes, this is an $87 million expensive risk that the Trail Blazers have taken, but what is the worst that could happen? Morant won’t perform well, or he won’t play at all. So be it. That’s because after two years, this team can walk away from him without feeling too bad about overcommitting. On the other hand, if it works out, then Morant would have obviously redeemed his name in two years. A win-win or a lose-lose situation for both, depending on how you see it.