NBA Analyst Says Memphis Grizzlies 'Waited Too Long' to Trade Ja Morant

June 29, 2026. That's the day the Memphis Grizzlies ended the Ja Morant era by trading the point guard to the Portland Trail Blazers for Jerami Grant and Kris Murray.

Memphis and Portland received a trade exceptions.  

Everyone knew the Grizzlies would trade Morant this summer, but NBA analyst Dan Favale of Bleacher Report believes Memphis "waited too long" to trade Ja. 

"It isn't clear when Memphis would've needed to move Morant to ensure it received more than what it ultimately accepted (Jerami Grant and Kris Murray)," Favale wrote. "But there were enough indications for years that this union was heading down the wrong path. Acting sooner may have helped the return and spared the franchise an extended period of spinning its wheels."

Morant made two All-Star teams and one All-NBA team with the Grizzlies. He won the 2019-20 Rookie of the Year award and the 2021-22 Most Improved Player of the Year award. The South Carolina finished his Memphis career with averages of 22.4 points and 7.4 assists per game in the regular season and 26.0 points and 8.1 assists per game in the playoffs. 

The Grizzlies won just one postseason series in the Morant era. That was back in 2022. Some people who cover the NBA believe Memphis should have traded Morant last offseason when the franchise sent Desmond Bane to the Orlando Magic. The Grizzlies likely would have gotten more value for Ja last summer. 

Morant joins Damian Lillard, Jrue Holiday, Scoot Henderson, Shaedon Sharpe, Deni Avdija and Donovan Clingan in Portland. The Trail Blazers made the playoffs this past season despite Lillard not playing due to his Achilles tear. They didn't bring Tiago Splitter back as head coach, though.  

Splitter was hired by the Chicago Bulls, while the Trail Blazers hired Micah Nori.

It will be a while before the Grizzlies make the playoffs again. However, at least they have a young building block in Cam Boozer, who won the Player of the Year Award last season. The Duke forward averaged 22.5 points, 10.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game while shooting 55.6% from the field, 39.1% from beyond the arc and 78.9% from the free-throw line.

In Summer League, Boozer played well, averaging 18.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.8 steals per game while shooting 45.2% from the field, 33.3% from beyond the arc and 77.3% from the free-throw line. The youngster made the Summer League First Team and led Memphis to the championship game, a contest the Golden State Warriors won. 

Selected third overall in the 2026 draft behind AJ Dybantsa and Darryn Peterson, Boozer is expected to be a day-one starter for the Grizzlies alongside Coward, last season's All-Rookie First Team selection.

Boozer's combination of playmaking, physicality and positional flexibility as a 6-foot-10 forward has drawn comparisons to the multi-skilled roster construction that defined the New York Knicks' championship approach, per Tony Jones of The Athletic.