Portland’s Josh Hart trade has been one of the rougher marks on Joe Cronin’s ledger, but the Blazers may have already found a way to soften that blow. The surprise blockbuster for Ja Morant is off to a strong start, and if it keeps trending this way, it could make that old deal sting a little less.
The Hart move never really worked out for Portland. The Blazers sent him to the New York Knicks and, in return, got Cam Reddish, Ryan Arcidiacono, Svi Mykhailiuk and a protected 2023 first-round pick. That pick became No. 23 overall Kris Murray out of Iowa, and he’s already no longer on the roster.
The Knicks, of course, had the far better end of that transaction. They enter the season as defending champions, with Hart a vital - and maybe still underrated - piece of what they built.
For Portland, the Murray part of the package never became much. His defensive versatility was there, but so were the shooting issues, and those limitations never appeared to take the next step. From the Blazers’ side, moving on made sense as an addition-by-subtraction play, especially with their shooting problems.
That same deal also finally cleared out Jerami Grant’s huge salary, another plus for Portland. Grant had been seen as one of the league’s biggest negative assets, and if the Grizzlies had to attach Morant to get the trade done, that says plenty about his market value too.
Still, the early returns are pointing Portland’s way. Through two games, Morant is putting up 13 points, 7.5 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals while shooting 52/38/50 in 24.5 minutes per game.
It’s a tiny sample, but the impact is easy to see. Morant looks energized in Portland, and that kind of form only makes the Blazers better after last season’s seventh-seed finish. They still aren’t on the same level as teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder or San Antonio Spurs - or the Knicks, for that matter - but this trade is giving Portland real reason to feel better about where things are headed.