Ja Morant has already started changing the way the Jerami Grant contract looks in Portland.
For a long time, that deal stood out as one of the clearest mistakes on the Blazers’ books. Portland handed Grant a five-year, $160 million contract in 2023, and then Damian Lillard asked out one day later. In an instant, what might have looked questionable became even harder to justify on a roster headed into a rebuild.
Grant lingered in trade rumors for years because of it. Joe Cronin held onto him longer than many around the league expected, apparently valuing him more than the market did. But as Grant’s production slipped, the perception around the league shifted too, and Portland wound up with what many viewed as one of the NBA’s toughest negative assets to move.
This offseason, though, things changed under new owner Tom Dundon. Once Memphis put Morant on the market, he fit the kind of distressed-asset bet Dundon has made before in his run with the Carolina Hurricanes, winners of the Stanley Cup. It was the kind of swing-on-talent move that made sense for Portland, even if it came with obvious risk.
Morant, in a strange way, was the rare player with trade value that could be argued to be even worse than Grant’s. Grant is overpaid, but he also brings size, shooting and a relatively low-maintenance profile.
That sort of player can fit just about anywhere. Morant is far more polarizing, even if the talent is obvious.
Portland deserves credit for being the team willing to take the plunge. Early returns have been encouraging, too.
The Blazers’ crowded backcourt has worked so far, and the team is off to a 3-0 start in preseason. Morant has been part of that, which suggests this could end up looking like a steal if he truly embraces that role over an 82-game season.
The payoff for Portland is even clearer when you look at what the alternative likely was. The Blazers went into the offseason with Grant as a trade chip, but the expectation was that they would need to attach future assets just to move him in any sort of win-now deal.
Instead, they brought in a two-time All-Star in Morant without including draft capital. Kris Murray was also part of the deal, but that did little to change the bigger picture.
With Grant sitting as a negative asset, Portland might have had to sweeten the pot with even more draft compensation just to get another team to take him. Instead, the Blazers swung for the more expensive, even more complicated player.
Cronin has made a habit of taking bold shots that are often criticized at first but later make sense inside the rebuild. It’s still early, but this one already has the feel of another move that could pay off.
The Grant contract was still a mistake. That part doesn’t go away.
But Portland turned it into Ja Morant, a player with star upside, without surrendering any picks. That is about as good an outcome as the Blazers could have hoped for, and it gives the franchise a much better direction moving forward.
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What stood out just as much as the final margin was how the Blazers found their edge despite some clear rough spots. They were out-rebounded on the offensive glass and did not exactly light it up from the floor, but they still dominated the interior and outscored the Kings 54-22 in the paint. For a team trying to build habits early, that kind of physical advantage is a useful sign, even if the offense still has a way to go before it looks fully polished. [Read more 🡒]
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Shaedon Sharpe Suddenly Faces An Uncomfortable Blazers Backcourt Reality
Portlands preseason backcourt picture has been shaped as much by fit as by talent, with the Blazers sorting through a group that includes Scoot Henderson and the kind of defensive-minded, complementary guards teams need to make a lineup work. There are obvious concerns about size and perimeter resistance, but the frontcourt has done enough to help offset some of those issues, giving the coaching staff a cleaner look at how the pieces might actually function together.
Shaedon Sharpes injury has complicated that evaluation in a way that could matter far beyond October. His absence has allowed Portland to see a more effective guard combination in action, and the longer that alignment works, the more uncomfortable the question becomes about where Sharpe fits when he returns. For a player whose ceiling has always been part of the Blazers long-term hope, the current backcourt reality is forcing an early conversation about role, opportunity, and whether the rotation he comes back to will look anything like the one he left. [Read more 🡒]