Watch: Ja Morant on video
Ja Morant spoke publicly for the first time since the June trade that brought him to the Portland Trail Blazers, telling reporters at Las Vegas Summer League on Saturday that the move is a clean break, per ESPN’s Ben Golliver. Portland acquired the two-time All-Star from Memphis for Jerami Grant and Kris Murray.
“New home. New team. New organization,” Morant said. “I get to show the fans in Portland a different Ja. It’s like starting all over again.” Asked what he wanted cleared up about his reputation, he went straight at it: “My image. That I’m a bad guy. I’m Ja. I’ve done what I’ve done in the past, but it’s been addressed and handled already. I don’t see why, years later, that’s still the topic when nothing’s happened since.”
Why it matters
Morant’s seven Memphis seasons included four playoff trips and two gun-related suspensions in 2023, plus a one-game team suspension last November after a confrontation with coach Tuomas Iisalo. He averaged 19.5 points and 8.1 assists last season but played only 20 games because of injuries; he told reporters his body “feels great” after four months of training while trade rumors circulated.
The basketball question in Portland is minutes. The roster already includes Damian Lillard, Jrue Holiday, Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe, and Morant addressed the logjam directly, saying he is willing to start or come off the bench. “All those guys will most likely unlock new parts of my game, and I’ll do the same for them,” he said. “We’re all very unselfish.” On Memphis, there was no edge: the city will “always be home,” he said.
The fantasy read here is genuinely murky, and Morant saying the right things about a bench role doesn’t clarify it. A backcourt with Lillard, Holiday, Henderson and Sharpe cannot pay everyone, and Morant’s usage — north of 30 percent for most of his Memphis run — has to come down. Treat him as a discounted mid-round pick in redraft until Portland’s rotation takes shape in camp, and note that Henderson and Sharpe carry the most downside risk if Morant opens as the lead guard.
