The Ja Morant trade is finally done. Memphis sent him to Portland for Jerami Grant and Kris Murray, a deal that feels like a steal for the Blazers if Morant ever gets back to being the guy who dragged the Grizzlies to the two-seed a couple years ago. He’s still only 24. The talent has never been the question. The off-court stuff, the suspensions, the noise — that’s why Memphis moved on, and that’s why Portland could get him without giving up a mountain of picks.
But here’s the thing nobody’s talking about enough: the Blazers now have four guards. Damian Lillard. Jrue Holiday. Scoot Henderson. And Ja Morant. That’s a logjam with a capital L. Somebody has to go.
The obvious candidate to move is Holiday. He’s 34, he’s still elite defensively, and he could fetch real assets from a contender. But here’s where it gets interesting. ClutchPoints NBA reporter Brett Siegel floated a different idea on Twitter: what if Portland doesn’t shop Holiday to just anyone, but instead flips him to Boston as part of a package for Jaylen Brown?
“Ja Morant to Portland makes you wonder,” Siegel posted. “Jrue Holiday, Damian Lillard, and Scoot Henderson are all there as well. Suddenly, a Jaylen Brown to Portland trade is not all that crazy to imagine.”
And look, it’s not that crazy. The Celtics won the title last year, but Boston’s front office has never been afraid to make big moves. Brown is a Finals MVP. He’s 27. He’s under contract. But the asking price, according to The Athletic’s Sam Amick, is up to four first-round picks. That’s steep. That’s give-up-your-future steep. But the Blazers might actually have the pieces to do it without totally gutting the roster.
The fit in Portland would be wild
Pairing Morant and Brown instantly gives Portland two All-Stars in their prime. Brown gets to be the clear alpha on his own team. Morant gets a fresh start with a co-star who can guard the other team’s best player every night. On paper, that’s a top-four seed in the West. On the court, it would be must-watch.
The Blazers already showed some toughness last season. They lost head coach Chauncey Billups for a stretch during the gambling investigation. They dealt with injuries to Deni Avdija, Shaedon Sharpe, Matisse Thybulle, and Robert Williams. Still made the playoffs as the seven-seed. Still won a play-in game. That team had grit. Adding Morant and Brown would be a totally different level.
But the price matters. Four first-round picks for Brown is a lot. It’s the kind of trade that either makes you a contender for five years or sets you back a decade. Portland has to decide if they’re all in right now, or if they want to keep building slowly around Scoot and whatever picks they stockpile.
For now, the ball is in Portland’s court. Literally and figuratively. The Western Conference is wide open, probably as open as it’s been since the Warriors dynasty started fading. The Blazers have the chips. They have the talent. And now they have Ja Morant. The question is whether they stop there or go all the way.
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