By Miguel Mike Medina
Photo Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images
Ja Morant’s tenure with the Memphis Grizzlies has come to an end. Grizzlies traded Morant to the Portland Trail Blazers for Jerami Grant and Kris Murray in the deal.
Morant is a two-time All-Star. The 26-year-old point guard has made headlines in the last few seasons for the wrong reasons. His off-the-court issues have been a driving force behind the Grizzlies organization moving forward without him. There have been too many distractions with the franchise. The Grizzlies, who were a team looking to build something special, have now traded away all of their key players, including Jaren Jackson Jr., Desmond Bane, and now Morant.
It’s now the new era of Cameron Boozer. The Grizzlies will build around the No. 3 overall pick in the draft. Morant has two years and around $87 million left on his maximum rookie extension. Morant is coming to a Blazers team that made the playoffs this season. However, the point guard position is loaded with veteran players Jrue Holiday and Damian Lillard.
The Blazers might move either Holiday or Lillard to shooting guard and have Morant play point guard. We don’t know what the coaches are going to plan. It’s still way too early to tell. Morant will get a chance to have a fresh start with a new team. He can’t afford to waste his talent by doing silly things off the court. Everyone deserves a second chance. Morant should seize the opportunity to become better than ever while he’s in Portland.
Morant has career averages of 22.4 points and 7.4 assists. Grant, 32, had a solid season with the Blazers. Grant averaged 18.6 points in 57 games. He scored a career-high 48 points against the Detroit Pistons back in February. The Grizzlies got themselves a good role player who can play defense and give you buckets.
Miguel Mike Medina is the publisher of The MMM Journal. He can be reached at medinamiguelmike@gmail.com and themmmjournal@gmail.com
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