Memphis Grizzlies trade Ja Morant to Portland Trail Blazers

The Memphis Grizzlies traded guard Ja Morant to the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday in exchange for Jerami Grant and Kris Murray, ESPN reported.

Morant, a two-time NBA All-Star Game selection, had been on the exit ramp since last season, during which there was strong speculation that the Grizzlies were trying to get rid of the shooting guard.

The 26-year-old player became one of the most visible faces of the league in its beginnings, but has suffered an ordeal of injuries in recent years. Last season he barely participated in 20 games in which he averaged 19.5 points and 8.1 assists.

That figure increases to 79 games in the last three seasons.

Morant’s current decline, the 2020 Rookie of the Year, began in March 2023, when the NBA handed him a 25-game suspension for holding a firearm in his hand during a live stream on a friend’s social media.

His arrival to the Trail Blazers represents a risky bet for the Oregon franchise, which aspires to gain positions in the West after falling in the first round of the playoffs last May.

The chemistry between Morant and Deni Avdija, the current star of the Trail Blazers, will be key to this.

The Grizzlies, for their part, acquire forward Jerami Grant, who averaged 18.6 points and 3.5 rebounds last season and has a one-year contract, as well as a player option to extend it.

The Memphis team finished the year far from the playoffs and is currently rebuilding.