New Ja Morant Rumors Reveal Star's Reaction to Trade to Blazers from Grizzlies

The Portland Trail Blazers reportedly acquired Ja Morant from the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday, and it appears the star is looking forward to his next chapter.

ESPN's Shams Charania reported on Monday that the Blazers acquired Morant in exchange for Jerami Grant and Kris Murray. After the deal was done, Charania reported that Morant told team officials that he was "excited to be in Portland."

Morant is coming off a season in which he averaged 19.5 points and 8.1 assists in 20 appearances for Memphis. He has a career average of 22.4 points and 7.4 assists per game in seven seasons.

Trading for the two-time All-Star adds even more star power to a backcourt that already features Damian Lillard.

On the flip side, Portland sent Grant to Memphis as part of the deal. The 32-year-old posted 18.6 points on 45.3 percent shooting, 3.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 2025-26 to help guide the Blazers to the playoffs as a No. 7 seed.

Injuries have unfortunately significantly curtailed each of Grant's past six campaigns. Still, Grant is a solid player when healthy and a capable and consistent 20-point-per-game scorer. Of note, the ex-Syracuse star averaged 20.8 PPG over four seasons (2020-21 to 2023-24).

As for Morant, he is now set to spend the next two seasons in Portland—and it sounds like he is ready to get to work.