A new chapter is about to open for the Portland Trail Blazers, and Ja Morant sits right in the middle of the conversation.
Portland enters this season with a new owner, a new coach, a high-profile trade pickup and a different level of expectation after finishing seventh in the Western Conference and reaching the playoffs for the first time in five years. Media day is set for September 28, and the Blazers are rolling out a daily look at the roster as camp nears.
Morant is the latest piece under the microscope.
At 6-foot-2 and 174 pounds, the 27-year-old point guard is entering his eighth NBA season and is slated to make $42.2 million this year after signing a five-year, $197 million extension in 2022. In 20 games with the Memphis Grizzlies last season, he averaged 19.5 points, 8.1 assists and 3.3 rebounds.
The expected role is simple enough on paper: starting guard. The fit, however, comes with plenty of questions.
Can Morant stay on the floor? Can he stay away from off-court issues?
And why would a team already carrying three point guards, including a pair of All-Stars, add a fourth? The Blazers are also trying to make sense of a player whose 29.5 three-point shooting percentage over the last three seasons doesn’t exactly match a roster in need of more shooting from deep.
Still, the upside is obvious. When Morant is right, he changes games. The 2020 Rookie of the Year put together a monster run from 2021-23, averaging 26.8 points, 7.5 assists and 5.8 rebounds while making two All-Star teams, earning All-NBA Second Team recognition, drawing MVP votes and winning the league’s Most Improved Player award.
The problem is how little of that version Portland has seen lately. Morant has appeared in just 79 games since that stretch because of injuries and suspensions, and last season he played only 20 games while shooting a career-low 41% from the field and 24% from three-point range.
Even so, the Blazers are banking on a reset helping him get back to that level. First-year coach Micah Nori said in July, “He’s ready to play basketball and he’s healthy,” and added, “I think we’re going to get the best version of Ja Morant.”
If that happens, Portland gets a high-flying scorer and playmaker with elite burst and real star power. But the backcourt is crowded, with Jrue Holiday, Damian Lillard and Scoot Henderson already in the mix, along with All-Star Deni Avdija, who thrived last season in a point-forward role.
Nori says he isn’t worried about figuring out the pieces.
“I just look at it as how many good basketball players and decision-makers and playmakers can we get on the floor,” Nori said.
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For Portland, Reath's name still carries a little extra interest because his time with the Blazers came during a stretch when the team was sorting through its center rotation. He later moved on to Atlanta, but the path that got him here has been the familiar one for a player trying to carve out a role on the margins, and now Phoenix is asking him to do it again while it waits for its injured big man to get back. [Read more 🡒]
Blazers Are Considering A Former First Round Wing With Real Risk
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For the Trail Blazers, the appeal is obvious: a young wing with upside who could fit into a rebuilding roster without a major financial commitment. The risk is just as clear, though, because Whitmores recent shoulder issue and the limited run he has gotten at the NBA level leave plenty of uncertainty about how quickly he could help, if he helps at all. [Read more 🡒]