Ja Morant’s first season in Portland is already shaping up to be one of the most fascinating storylines of the 2026-2027 Trail Blazers. The trade that sent him to the Rose City caught plenty of people off guard this summer, and on paper it brings a strange-looking backcourt mix into the room.
Damian Lillard, Jrue Holiday, Scoot Henderson, Shaedon Sharpe and Sidy Cissoko were already there. Then Portland added Morant, a 27-year-old guard with plenty of star power and just as much attention attached to his name.
The fit might look crowded at first glance, but the Blazers are clearly betting on what Morant can unlock. He is not a deep shooter in the Lillard mold - his career mark from beyond the arc sits at 31.1 percent - but that’s not why Portland brought him in. Morant’s game is built on pressure, burst and downhill force, the kind that sends defenses collapsing toward the paint and opens space for teammates on the perimeter.
“I feel like we've obviously got different strengths,” Morant said. “Mine is I'm able to get downhill.
I can create for me and others. If you watch basketball, most teams don't like players touching the paint because it causes the defense to collapse, cause other people to help.
So if I'm driving and somebody has to help, I have a teammate open. If y'all know our roster, y'all know how that works.”
That same logic is part of why Portland believes the backcourt can actually make sense. Someone has to initiate offense and get the group into the right spots, and Morant has spent much of his career handling that responsibility in Memphis. In Portland, though, he may not have to carry the ball up and set everything the way he once did.
He doesn’t sound concerned about that shift.
“I feel like everybody that’s on the team who would have the ball are all unselfish,” Morant said. “So off the ball, on the ball, you still have to do your job.
For me, my first time playing point guard was like my junior year of high school. And then my first year at Murray, I was on the ball, but my senior was the point guard.
So it's no different.”
The Blazers did get a setback when Sharpe was ruled out with a meniscus tear, but Morant still gives them one of the most electric playmakers in the league. At 27, and with the injuries that have followed him in recent years, he still carries the kind of burst that can light up a gym and turn a possession into a highlight.
Scoot Henderson said he’s paying attention.
“I love Ja's gameplay,” Henderson said. “Fast, but can slow the pace down, like that's one of the things where I was working on just pacing. I watch basketball a lot, so just watching Ja, watching Jrue, just those pace guys.”
Morant’s ability to get to the line is another piece Portland is banking on. Over his eight-year career, he has averaged 6.4 free throw attempts per game, and he reached a high point of 8.1 in the 2022-2023 season, when he earned his second All-Star nod. Add in Deni Avdija as another strong driver, and the Blazers suddenly have multiple players who can attack the rim and force defenses into uncomfortable choices.
Still, there’s no pretending the most fun part won’t be the aerial stuff. Morant has built his reputation on plays that make the building shake, and the possibility of those moments in Portland is part of the appeal.
“I've seen some workouts of his and very explosive, and knows a lot about the game, so I'm excited to watch him,” Sharpe said. “I’d say (I’m the better dunker), but he can jump though, it’s crazy.”
Portland didn’t have to give up much more than Jerami Grant and Kris Murray to land him, a reflection of how much baggage many believed came with the deal. Even so, the Blazers are acting like a fresh start can matter here, especially with Lillard and Holiday in the room.
“I also have a lot of faith in our environment and our ability to support (Morant),” Blazers general manager Joe Cronin said at media day. “Being around Dame Lillard and Jrue Holiday is a blessing that most players haven't been able to have. They'll be impactful for Ja in their leadership, in their friendship, in their mentorship.”
Morant made it clear when the trade happened that he viewed it as a reset. He said the change was needed, and he returned to that theme at media day, talking about a chance to start over and show a different side of himself in Portland.
“Obviously, how past years went for me, I felt like it was needed for me,” Morant said. “I feel a lot better and just ready to hoop.
“Everything that happened over the years pretty much just stuck with me, everybody keeps bringing them up. As long as Memphis was across my chest, it was still getting said.
I'm pretty sure everybody in here probably still judge me off that some. But yeah, now I get to you know start over.”
And if the early read from his new teammates means anything, he’s already fitting in. Robert Williams summed up the first impression at media day with a line that said plenty.
“Since he came in day one bro, from communication to work ethic to just relying on the teammates and us relying on him, he’s accepting everything and you can see he’s ready to work,” Williams said.
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