Dec 15, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant (12) brings the ball up court during the third quarter against the Los Angeles Clippers at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images
Dec 15, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant (12) brings the ball up court during the third quarter against the Los Angeles Clippers at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images
The upcoming season is already poised to be an exciting one. With many familiar faces donning new colors, it will be intriguing to see how they fare on their new teams. Among these, Ja Morant‘s new chapter with the Portland Trail Blazers will be worth keeping an eye on.
After making his name with the Memphis Grizzlies, Ja Morant’s time with the franchise came to an end after the team decided to undergo a rebuild this summer. Now, with the Blazers, Morant finds himself in a completely different environment with an opportunity to rebrand himself.
Realistically, this could be Morant’s shot at bouncing back from past failures. However, according to former NBA champion Channing Frye, Morant’s time in Portland could be short. While predicting who will have a better season between Morant and LaMelo Ball, Frye didn’t hesitate to pick Ball. But he also shared:
“I could see Ja Morant not being in Portland for very long. In a good way. In a great way. I think Ja Morant is here because Portland wants to gather talent, and I think they’re going to give Ja Morant the most opportunities to be the best version of himself and then trade him somewhere where he can go back to being Ja Morant.”
“You’re [Morant] not here to really win. You’re here for Dame’s last two or three years,” Frye continued. “Send him off correct. He’s going to get a statue in front. Retire the jersey. And Ja Morant, ‘Hey, we need you to play well so that we can trade you for assets and so that we can go back to giving our young guys their opportunities. So we could get that lottery again, get our picks, and talent assess so that you can go somewhere and really flourish on a better team.”
In many ways, Channing Frye’s rationale seems to hold. As constructed, the Portland Trail Blazers have a logjam in the backcourt. With three star point guards, all of whom are vying for a starting role, the Blazers aren’t exactly poised to be contenders.
In Ja Morant’s case, some reports even indicate that the two-time All-Star may have to embrace a bench role. But when taking Frye’s justification into account, it seems more likely for Morant to become the focal point next to Damian Lillard, sending Jrue Holiday to the bench to strengthen the second unit.
This approach could make sense for Portland. Despite its present issues, Portland has the potential to be competitive. For a franchise legend like Lillard, playing competitive basketball before retiring could be a respectable send-off.
Meanwhile, allowing Ja Morant to boost his trade value could also be a meaningful part of the Trail Blazers’ schemes. Given that much of Portland’s cap space is committed to the duo of Holiday and Morant, being able to increase Morant’s value to trade him for draft assets and expiring contracts would give Portland the flexibility to retain other players.
Deni Avdija and Scoot Henderson are the first to come to mind. Given Avdija’s development into an All-Star over the last season, Portland will be eager to retain him. Thus, creating the cap space by shedding Morant’s salary and having the assets to land future stars would seem beneficial.
Last season, Morant averaged 19.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 8.1 assists per game while shooting 41.0% from the field. While these are solid numbers, they fall short of what Morant is capable of producing.
With the opportunity to boost his trade stock, the 27-year-old will aim to return to familiar form next season. Considering how his performances could impact winning, the Blazers will also hope to see Morant fulfill his potential.