Ja Morant knows what people think of him. He’s seen the headlines, the viral clips, the endless social media replays of him flashing a gun on Instagram Live. But ahead of his first season with the Portland Trail Blazers, the 26-year-old guard is pushing back hard on the idea that he’s still that guy.
“Obviously, I’ve done what I’ve done in the past, but it’s been addressed and handled already,” Morant told ESPN’s Ben Golliver. “I don’t see why, years later, that’s still the topic when nothing’s happened since. And I feel like if I was that guy, ya’ll wouldn’t be talking to me now. I wouldn’t be here.”
It’s a fair point. Morant served two separate suspensions for gun-related incidents — one in 2023 that cost him eight games, another in 2024 that wiped out 25 games and reportedly cost him around $9 million in lost salary. He was traded from Memphis to Portland in a blockbuster deal last offseason, and now he’s trying to write a different story.
Morant’s new coach is already sold
Blazers head coach Micah Nori, who’s also entering his first year in Portland, sat down with Morant recently and came away convinced the guard is locked in. Nori told The Athletic’s Jason Quick that the conversation was different than what he expected.
“The way he was talking, the way he looked … the intent he had, you could just tell in his face that he missed basketball,” Nori said. “And he assured that we were going to get the best Ja and that he was going to do all the right things.”
Nori didn’t stop there. “I think we are going to get the best version of Ja,” he added. “I think we are going to get a motivated Ja.”
That’s the kind of endorsement that matters. Nori has no history with Morant, no shared locker room loyalty to fall back on. He’s seeing it fresh, and he’s betting his first season on it.
Portland’s big gamble
The Blazers essentially swapped one superstar for another when they dealt Damian Lillard to Milwaukee and brought in Morant. Lillard was the face of the franchise for a decade, beloved in Portland for his loyalty and his clutch shooting. Morant is something different — an electric, explosive talent who also comes with baggage.
Portland fans have been waiting for Lillard’s emphatic return for years. Instead, they’re getting Morant as the new centerpiece, and the early reviews from inside the organization are cautiously optimistic. The real test won’t come until October, when Morant steps on the court in a Blazers uniform and has to prove he can stay out of his own way.
For now, Morant is saying all the right things. He’s promising accountability. He’s telling his coach he’ll do the grunt work. And he’s asking everyone — media, fans, whoever — to stop re-litigating a past that, by his telling, is already closed.
Whether that’s enough to change the narrative is another question. But Morant seems to understand that actions are the only thing that will actually move the needle.
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