The Portland Trail Blazers took a low-risk bet on Ja Morant that may or may not pay off. It's rare to see talent supersede fit in today's NBA, and this Morant experiment likely won't be the exception.
Still, Portland doesn't mind those low-risk, high-reward swings on distressed assets like Morant. It's an approach that new owner Tom Dundon has had in successfully turning around the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes.
Best-case scenario: Morant returns to his All-Star form, which would single-handedly alter the trajectory of this Blazers rebuild, especially considering they gave up Jerami Grant and Kris Murray with no draft capital attached.
Unfortunately, we'd bet against that being the case. Not only given how poorly Morant's injury-riddled time ended in Memphis, but also because of how bad of a fit he is in Portland.
Ja Morant is a poor fit for the Blazers
The Blazers are one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the league, but managed to overcome those shooting woes to reach the postseason largely thanks to the All-Star ascension of Deni Avdija.
Because of his emergence in that point-forward role initiating Portland's offense last season, the logical next step this offseason would've been to surround him with complementary pieces -- shooters who can reliably floor space for his aggressive downhill game.
Better yet, Grant could've been used as a piece to even potentially shed salary in the deal, allowing Portland more financial flexibility to renegotiate and extend Avdija so he can remain a Blazer long-term.
Instead, Dundon's buy-low approach took precedence over Avdija this offseason, as Portland decided the best move was to bring in more talent and figure the rest out later.
The issue is there's an increased sense of urgency to figure out this mess now. As in the 2026-27 season.
Head coach Micah Nori is essentially on a prove-it deal. Damian Lillard has a closing window to get that first ring. Dundon wants this team to win sooner rather than later, and Portland has already proven capable of it by finishing with the seventh seed in a loaded Western Conference last season. The expectations are heightened. And while the roster is certainly talented, it's also wonkier than ever.
Regarding Morant, we think there are too many variables and reasons for this experiment to go wrong for it to ultimately pan out in Portland's favor. The durability concerns, off-court issues (blown out of proportion but still worth noting), inability to stretch the floor, overlapping downhill game, and defensive limitations on the perimeter contradict the defensive identity general manager Joe Cronin has established throughout this rebuild.
All that said, even though we are skeptical the talent will beat out the fit, we still don't mind the gamble for Portland.
... He's also a worthwhile risk
Why? Well, for one, the Blazers aren't a market that has the luxury of attracting big names in free agency or even via trade requests, which seems to be a more common route with superstars these days.
We even just saw Portland be on the losing side of that during the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade sweepstakes this summer. They have to try something to bring in more talent, and Morant has already proven, when at his highest level, he's among the best guards in the entire association.
But most importantly, Portland has multiple pathways to escape should this experiment backfire.
They've been stockpiling assets and can trade up to six first-round picks, meaning they could use Morant as a salary filler to package to come away with a better-fitting star.
There's also the wildcard that needs to be mentioned: the expansion draft.
That seems like a potential win-win scenario for a Seattle or Las Vegas franchise to come away with a building block (to the best of their ability) while the Blazers wipe their hands and move on to their next buy-low experiment.
It may be difficult to make sense of the plan or understand the vision given how poorly Morant fits this team, especially since they had no follow-up move to resolve the backcourt logjam. But we need to emphasize patience on this deal in particular and how we view it, since the "follow-up moves" will be delayed.
Portland needs to evaluate this backcourt by February's trade deadline and, most importantly, how their headliner offseason, Morant, fits into a young core that already reached the postseason without him. If Morant hinders their development more than he helps, at least it appears they have exit plans, making it a worthwhile risk regardless of fit.
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