Grizzlies trade Ja Morant to Trail Blazers, ending tumultuous tenure in Memphis: report

Ja Morant's roller-coaster tenure with the Memphis Grizzlies has reportedly come to an end. 

The Grizzlies, who took Morant second overall in the 2019 NBA Draft, have traded the two-time All-Star point guard to the Portland Trail Blazers, according to ESPN. 

Portland is sending Jerami Grant and Kris Murray in exchange for Morant. 

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Morant has two years remaining on his five-year, $197.23 million rookie max extension he’s currently playing under. 

Now, he joins a Trail Blazers team that already has veteran guard Damian Lillard in place, as the sixth overall pick by Portland returned home last year. However, Lillard never played in a game as he was recovering from a torn Achilles he suffered in the Milwaukee Bucks’ playoffs series against the Indiana Pacers. 

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After trading Desmond Bane almost one year ago to the date, the Grizzlies now move on from Morant, a player that had a red-hot start to his NBA career as the Rookie of the Year during the 2019-20 campaign, while also winning Most Improved Player in 2021-22. His explosive scoring and clutch shooting abilities were on display, as Memphis saw a player it could build around for years to come. 

But Morant’s off-the-court troubles made national headlines, beginning in Sept. 2022 when he was named a defendant in a lawsuit filed where the plaintiff accused him of punching a 17-year-old male during a pickup game at his home earlier that year. A judge determined in 2025 that Morant was acting in self-defense, which he claimed to responding authorities on the matter, and the case was dismissed.

Morant’s biggest legal issues began in March 2023 after he was investigated for flashing a gun in a strip club during an Instagram live stream. The NBA would suspend him eight games. 

"Morant wielded the firearm while knowing that he was being recorded and that the recording was being live streamed on Instagram Live, despite having made commitments to the NBA and public statements that he would not repeat the conduct for which he was previously disciplined," the league said in a statement at the time.

Morant also released a statement, apologizing for his actions. 

"I want to apologize to the NBA, the Grizzlies, my teammates and the city of Memphis. To Adam Silver, Zach Kleiman and Robert Pera – who gave me the opportunity to be a professional athlete and have supported me – I'm sorry for the harm I've done. To the kids who look up to me, I'm sorry for failing you as a role model. I promise I'm going to be better. To all of my sponsors, I'm going to be a better representation of our brands. And to all of my fans, I'm going to make it up to you, I promise," his statement read. 

But just two months later, Morant was hit with a 25-game suspension for "conduct detrimental to the league," following an investigation into a second incident where he appeared to flash a gun again on social media. 

The suspension was in effect for the first 25 games of the 2023-24 campaign. 

"The potential for other young people to emulate Ja’s conduct is particularly concerning," Silver said in a statement. "Under these circumstances, we believe a suspension of 25 games is appropriate and makes clear that engaging in reckless and irresponsible behavior with guns will not be tolerated.

"For Ja, basketball needs to take a back seat at this time. Prior to his return to play, he will be required to formulate and fulfill a program with the league that directly addresses the circumstances that led him to repeat this destructive behavior."

Morant gets a fresh start now after coming off a season where he only played 20 games because of an elbow injury. The Grizzlies announced on March 24 that he would miss the remainder of the year, finishing with 19.5 points, 3.3 rebounds and 8.1 assists averaged across those contests. 

For his seven years in Memphis, Morant averaged 22.4 points, 7.4 assists and 4.6 rebounds, while shooting 46.6% from the field over 327 games. 

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