Ja Morant Acquisition is Likely an Indicator of More Trades

News broke on Monday afternoon of a trade involving the Trail Blazers—though not the trade many were anticipating. Shams Charania reported on Monday afternoon that the Memphis Grizzlies agreed to trade guard Ja Morant to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for Jerami Grant and Kris Murray. The Grizzlies have been reportedly desperate to unload Morant, and the Blazers had expendable players to match salary in the trade.

The first question is how does Morant fit in with the current Blazers roster? Portland has a logjam at point guard with a backcourt consisting of Damian Lillard, Scoot Henderson, Jrue Holiday, and now Ja Morant. The Blazers would need one of their ball-dominant guards to play off-ball, but there's also Shaedon Sharpe, who will factor into the lineup. The Blazers must have other moves on the horizon, with Jrue Holiday seemingly the most likely trade piece, given his large contract and his age. With a Jaylen Brown trade becoming increasingly more unlikely, the Blazers would need to look at other options to consolidate their assets.

According to Jason Quick, Robert Williams III is not expected to return to the Blazers, which leaves Donovan Clingan and Yang Hansen as the only bigs on the roster. Both Clingan and Hansen are more defensive anchor, glass-cleaner prototypes who struggle with guarding more athletic centers like Chet Holmgren and Victor Wembanyama. Three-point shooting is still a major issue, so adding an athletic center or a stretch four or five would make a lot of sense. While Trey Murphy is more of a wing than a big, his skillset fills this need immediately.

In a social media post from Basketball University, Murphy was the best shooter from beyond 30 feet, shooting 41% on 37 attempts. He's not just a catch-and-shoot guy either—he can shoot off the dribble, pull up in transition, and shoot off screens. Kevin O'Conner reported that teams are offering two first-round picks for Murphy, but Pelicans GM Joe Dumars is looking for three. Yves Missi is an athletic, rim-running big man with defensive versatility, which fits the profile that the Blazers are looking to complement Donovan Clingan in the frontcourt. Pairing Henderson and Sharpe with a couple of first-round picks should be enough to get Murphy and Missi in return.

Such a deal would still leave the Blazers with two point guards making at least $35 million per year, which doesn't even include Damian Lillard. Mavericks' center Daniel Gafford also fits the athletic profile, and PJ Washington could be the corner-three solution for the Blazers, which had the worst corner-three percentage in the NBA. According to Spotrac's trade machine, sending Jrue Holiday and Sidy Cissoko (via bi-annual exception) to Dallas for Gafford and Washington would be a valid trade.

With the Ja Morant acquisition, Blazers fans should expect additional moves this offseason to transform the roster into a championship contender.