The Portland Trail Blazers acquired Ja Morant from the Memphis Grizzlies for essentially nothing. They viewed it as their big move and seemed to call it a day.
With a backcourt logjam consisting of four starting-caliber point guards, many wondered what GM Joe Cronin had up his sleeve. It turned out it was a tank top -- that was it.
The Blazers could've easily pivoted to a Jaylen Brown blockbuster with the Boston Celtics. The one benefit from the Morant deal was they didn't sacrifice any future draft capital, sending over a plateaued Kris Murray and a negative asset in Jerami Grant.
It was hard to see the vision given Morant's poor fit, but we gave Cronin the benefit of the doubt, hoping it was part one of a grander scheme. Instead of using Morant as a stepping stone to better balance out their roster elsewhere by trading for a two-way wing like Brown, Portland sat on the sidelines.
Blazers' Ja Morant vision gets harder to understand after passing on Jaylen Brown
That decision looks all the more puzzling after seeing how cheap Brown just went for in a surprising blockbuster deal with the Philadelphia 76ers.
ESPN's Shams Charania reports that Philadelphia has acquired Brown in exchange for Paul George, two first-round picks and two second-round picks. Mind you, this is for someone who was the Finals MVP of this league just two years ago. He's a top 20 player still in his prime, the exact star power and the exact fit Portland should've been seeking, especially after landing Morant for cheap.
Most Blazers fans are excited about Morant in Portland, which is understandable considering all we've wanted throughout this rebuild was more star power. But this isn't the two-time All-Star Morant they're acquiring. It's the injury-prone one they are buying extremely low on in hopes of the outside possibility he returns to that form.
In other words, it's a relatively lateral and conservative move disguised as a splash. If they wanted to truly make a splash, that Morant deal gave Portland a prime opportunity to package the future assets saved in a blockbuster deal elsewhere.
They still have a treasure trove of assets, yet weren't even in the conversation for Brown after landing Morant?
It's July, and the Blazers have now missed out on Brown, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and even LaMelo Ball. Sure, they enter the 2026-27 season with a star of their own. But it's the one misfit star that fits their frugal price range.
Portland should've been more aggressive in general with their trades this offseason, and after landing Morant, they had even more reason to pivot to Brown. At the very least, it made sense to see what the market was. A few first-round picks for a star who perfectly fits this roster would've been well worth it.
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