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Two-time All-Star guard Ja Morant is starting fresh with the Portland Trail Blazers. It comes after he apparently wore out his welcome in Memphis following a series of off-court controversies, further compounded by injuries that hampered his production.
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The Grizzlies decided to part ways with the 2020 NBA Rookie of the Year after months of contemplation, trading Morant to the Blazers late in June in exchange for forwards Jeremi Grant and Kris Murray.
It effectively ended the former Murray State standout’s seven-year stay in Memphis, a stint marked by his stellar rise to stardom and quick downfall as his problems outside the court started to dominate the headlines. Most notably, he twice displayed firearms on social media, which resulted in league suspensions and adversely affected his relationship with the team.
Rooting for a Morant bounce-back
As Morant tries to bounce back and reset his career in the Pacific Northwest, among those rooting for him to succeed is former NBA player and one-time champion, Iman Shumpert.
Shump made it known on “The Big Podcast” of Shaquille O’Neal, sharing that Morant deserves to be given a second chance, considering how things ended for him with the Grizzlies.
“I’m so honestly excited for him (Morant) to start this journey in Portland. I want him to prove everybody wrong so badly. It would be so great,” Shumpert shared. “I just want him to be able to write the wrong, not even off the court, but on the court, to be healthy… because I don’t think what he did was wrong.”
Shumpert then tried to make sense of what happened with Morant in Memphis, particularly the gun-related incidents that clouded the latter late in his stay. The former Cleveland Cavaliers guard acknowledged that the young guard was wrong in flashing firearms on social media. However, he argued that criticizing Ja for legally owning a gun was misguided.
“And it’s in retrospect, but it’s like out of anybody that’s needed to have one, y’all don’t think he would like just the audacity of the state when people like, ‘What does he have a gun for?” I’m like, ‘Bro, they’re making $200 million.’ Like you don’t think he is going to have a firearm to defend himself? Yeah, he did a dumb thing by going on the internet with it,” Shump said.
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Moving on
As he begins his journey in Portland, Morant wants to focus on what lies ahead and move on from the storm that marked his final years in Memphis.
He admitted that he had his share of faults while he was with the Grizzlies and wished he could have taken some back. But for him, it is all in the past now and what matters is what he does with the Blazers.
“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,” Morant reiterated upon his arrival in Portland.
With the Blazers, he will bring his career averages of 22.4 points, 7.4 assists and 4.6 rebounds while shoring up the team’s backcourt, which also includes Damian Lillard, Scoot Henderson and Jrue Holiday.
Portland is coming off a winning season (42-40), where it reached the playoffs after a four-year absence. The team also saw forward Deni Avdija emerge as an All-Star.
Morant had a rough ending in Memphis, but he has an opportunity to turn the page in Portland. The responsibility to make the most of the chance rests with Morant, but he also deserves to have it better in the next chapter.
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This story was originally published August 2, 2026 at 11:44 PM.