At Media Day, Ja Morant was asked about his goals and expectations for the upcoming 2026-27 season. The Portland Trail Blazers' new point guard wants to play all 82 games this regular season.
"82 games," Morant answered. "I was telling Tou that I'm trying to get in his category of playing 82 for whatever his streak is right now. So we're in that weight room."
First, it's awesome to see Morant give Toumani Camara the recognition he deserves for his availability, playing all 82 games last season and 78 the year prior.
Second, it almost came off as a half-joking or unrealistic goal for Morant, given his quietly extensive injury history. Here's how many games Morant has played each of the last three seasons: 9, 50, and 20.
A total of 79 games played over the past three seasons, and he wants to exceed that in just his first year with the Blazers?
Ja Morant trade comes with risk for the Blazers
Fit is the obvious concern with the Morant trade, but don't overlook the risk Portland took on with his injury-proneness as well.
The goal points to Morant's eagerness to see the court after the injury-plagued seasons with the Memphis Grizzlies (that didn't quite go according to plan even when he was healthy). It also highlights the risk associated with this trade for Portland.
The Blazers won the trade in a vacuum, as Morant is an obvious talent upgrade over Jerami Grant and Kris Murray. But with that higher upside that comes from Morant also comes higher risk.
Morant is the highest-paid on the Blazers roster, owed $42.2 million this season and $44.9 million in 2027-28. Best-case scenario, Morant becomes the next on general manager Joe Cronin's list of bold trades that ultimately worked out in their favor. Worst case, Morant not only fails to return to his former All-Star form, but also struggles to stay healthy.
The Blazers previously had to navigate Jerami Grant as a negative asset, who fortunately boosted his value enough to trade after a relative bounce-back year. But that was also because they swapped Grant for an even riskier negative asset in Morant, albeit with higher upside.
If Morant's availability remains an issue and he can't get anywhere close to his ambitious goal, it'll be that much harder for Portland to move on from this buy-low reclamation project.
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