Ja Morant hasn’t played a single minute in Portland yet. He already knows the story he wants to tell there. Speaking to reporters at NBA Summer League in Las Vegas on Saturday – his first public appearance since the June trade from Memphis – the two-time All-Star was direct about his past and what comes next.
“I get to show the fans in Portland a different Ja,” he said. “It’s like starting all over again.”
Seven years in Memphis, and what they cost
Morant spent his entire NBA career in Memphis – seven seasons, four playoff runs, and two gun-related suspensions in 2023 that changed how the league saw him. The Grizzlies moved on in late June, trading him to Portland in exchange for forwards Jerami Grant and Kris Murray. Saturday in Las Vegas, he did not sidestep any of it.
Asked what he would like to see cleared up, Morant pointed to his image: “[That] I’m a bad guy. I’m Ja. I’ve done what I’ve done in the past, but it’s been addressed and handled already. I don’t see why, years later, that’s still the topic when nothing’s happened since,” he said.
What Portland is betting on
The Trail Blazers are adding a point guard who, at his best, is one of the most explosive players in the league. At his peak in Memphis, Morant averaged 27.4 points and 8.1 assists per game. He is 26 years old. Portland, rebuilding with young pieces, is wagering that the talent outweighs the baggage and that a change of scenery could reset both sides.
“My mindset changed,” Morant added. “I go into things differently now. I feel more mature, and I’m ready to work.”
Whether fans buy the new chapter is one question. Whether Morant can stay on the court through a full Portland season is another. But as opening statements in new cities go, this one landed exactly where it needed to.
Source: ESPN – Hoops Rumors
