Everyone knew the Portland Trail Blazers wanted to go star hunting. Few expected polarizing Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant to be the one they ultimately came away with. In a surprising blockbuster move, Portland has acquired Morant in exchange for Jerami Grant and Kris Murray, ESPN's Shams Charania reports.
Portland's front office is viewing this as a low-risk move to acquire a high-upside player in Morant, helping close the star power gap in the Western Conference. However, there are serious concerns in terms of Morant's fit with this Blazers roster.
Ja Morant is a poor fit for this Blazers roster
GM Joe Cronin mentioned that addressing Portland's shooting woes was a top offseason priority, especially after seeing how much of a problem their lack of floor spacing was in their playoff series against the San Antonio Spurs. Moving on from Kris Murray was an addition-by-subtraction move in that sense. But swapping Grant for Morant is a major downgrade and a step in the wrong direction.
Grant has been one of the Blazers' most reliable floor-spacing options throughout this rebuild, connecting on 38.9 percent of his three-point attempts this past season. Meanwhile, Morant is coming off the worst shooting season of his career at 23.5 percent from beyond the arc.
Morant may fit this Blazers timeline at 26, but unfortunately, he's no longer the player he once was. Injuries have derailed his career as he hasn't eclipsed 50 games played in any of the past three seasons. Portland hopes Morant will benefit from a change of scenery and get his career back on an upward trajectory. Betting on an injury-prone guard who is so overly reliant on his athleticism is likely a losing gamble.
The fit isn't much better on the defensive end, either. Cronin finally established a defensive identity in Portland, doubling down on that vision last summer by swapping the offensive-minded Anfernee Simons for the versatile Jrue Holiday. Now, they plan on rolling out a backcourt of Damian Lillard and Ja Morant?
It was already hard to see what the final vision for this roster was. Portland could've taken this summer in several different directions as they had all the flexibility in the world. Morant clouds that picture even further.
It was a swap of one bad contract for another between Grant and Morant. But at least Grant was a better fit for this team with one less year remaining on his deal.
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