Ja Morant needed to leave the Memphis Grizzlies

Tonight, the Memphis Grizzlies see the former face of their franchise in a different uniform playing against them for the first time.

Ja Morant is now a member of the Portland Trail Blazers. And his new squad is off to an electric start. Entering tonight's game Portland is the most efficient offense in the entire NBA. And Ja's play has been a major reason why. Per Cleaning the Glass, Morant (in the admittedly small sample size of three games and 80 minutes played) is the best offensive weapon on the entire Trail Blazers roster.

So surely, entering this game against a possible scoring juggernaut at least partly their own creation, should Grizzlies General Manager Zach Kleiman and company regret parting with the talented, but baggage-carrying, Ja?

No. Not even a little bit.

Grizzlies Superstar Ja Morant left Memphis years ago

We miss this...but it's been gone a long time. — Dec 30, 2025; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant (12) shoots during the fourth quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The national media may continue to change their viewpoint of Ja Morant if he can continue this level of productivity. There are already some examples of that. Any well-meaning Memphis Grizzlies supporter should hope that Ja has success, given all that he did in a positive direction for the franchise.

But to act as if all of this (small sample size but still impressive) success would have happened in Memphis is disingenuous.

There are the early evidence of Ja possibly disagreeing with the approach of Grizzlies Head Coach Tuomas Iisalo's philosophies and schemes. This was not the Taylor Jenkins scheme that for so much of Ja's tenure with the Grizzlies was built around Morant's strengths. Iisalo's system takes on a more collective approach for creation. Ja was used to being the focal point.

Then there is the reality that Morant is playing in a different style in Portland than he did in Memphis, alongside different players. He is not the focal point of what the Trail Blazers want to do as he was with the Grizzlies. Deni Avdija is the team's best player. Damian Lillard is their resident legend/vibe generator. Ja can truly just be himself on the floor without the weight of being tasked to do more than he should.

There was evidence Ja was still this type of a good player. In fact, his 15.5 average game score across three consecutive games played per Basketball Reference was last done to close the 2025 calendar year and open 2026, so not too long ago.

The only problem? Ja did not play in more than six consecutive games for the Memphis Grizzlies last season...or the season before that...or the season before that. In fact, the last time Ja played 7 or more games consecutively was from February 7th and March 3rd, 2023.

Suspensions. Injuries. All sorts of things, both within Morant's control and outside of it, transpired to make it so that Ja was far more unavailable the last 3 years of his Grizzlies tenure than available. It's why Morant's trade value was so low that (in hindsight erroneous) reports of Memphis needing to ATTACH draft capital to part with the multi-time All-Star.

It's not that Ja was bad at basketball. He could still play. The greatest ability was availability, though, and that guy has not consistently played for the Memphis Grizzlies in years.

With that comes change. Fair or unfair, regardless of who deserves blame.

A fresh start for all

Still weird. — Oct 27, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard Ja Morant (1) reacts after the game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

When the game tips off tonight, there will be emotion. Ja will try to dunk (both literally and figuratively) on the Memphis Grizzlies whenever he can, and understandably so. He's still close to his now former teammates, but surely there are those in the organization he is "less than cool" with. It's just another NBA game, this one against two undefeated teams.

One team is, early in the process, successfully rehabilitating a former superstar. If Ja Morant reignites in Portland, it will undoubtedly spark a run for the Trail Blazers towards playoff success. A healthy, invested Ja will be a force, and if Portland can work out the defensive kinks - especially in their back court - with the injuries to the Oklahoma City Thunder, a run to the Conference Finals is possible.

The other? They have a new, young start to build around in Cameron Boozer. They have a new starting point guard currently setting the league on fire. They have no player they actively "chose" over Morant - his co-stars from his era (Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr.) were traded before Ja left Memphis. It was a direction shift, one that has Memphis looking like the future is bright.

Whenever a breakup occurs, taking it personally is a natural reaction. But with the benefit of time, both sides being better off often is the end result. There doesn't always need to be a "loser" in these spaces. The only constant in life is change. And in Memphis, for both the Grizzlies and Ja Morant, it was time for change

The only superstar the Memphis Grizzlies have ever known is going to try to beat them tonight. And Ja Morant's first NBA home is going to attempt to do the same. Once the game ends, the teams will shake hands and both Morant and the Grizzlies go down their new paths.

Both wiser for the trail they once shared. And excited for the road ahead.

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