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Iman Shumpert: ‘I’m so excited for him to start this journey in Portland. I want him to prove everybody wrong so bad. It make me so angry and it's in retrospect, but it's like, out of anybody that's need to have one, y'all don't think he would like, just the audacity of the state when people are like, what is he ever going for? I'm like, bro, they making $200 million a year. Like, in three years, they going to have $200 million. Like, you don't think he going to have a firearm to defend himself? I'm like, a security guard will rob him. It's all security. Like, what? Like, it's a lot of money, so it's perspective wise, I just, yeah, he did a dumb thing by going on the internet with it. But it's like, I just want him to be able to write the wrong, not even off the court, but on the court, to be healthy and doing the thing that it's like, this is what got him in this situation.’
Nick DePaula: Ja Morant is expanding his Nike signature series — launching the “Twelve Time” sneaker in September for just $90. “Growing up, not everybody could always get the top shoe,” said @JaMorant . "So making something at a lower price point was important. I want more kids to be able to wear my stuff, hoop in it, feel like they part of it.”
I asked Brooks afterward what we need to understand about Morant, what should we know about him? He said we should understand he is an amazing teammate, one who organizes team dinners and looks after young players. And Brooks said Portland will fall in love with him, not only because he is an electric player, but also because he pours out what is poured in. “I would say treat him as he was your son, your brother, your uncle or family,” Brooks said. “Because you will get a lot more back from him.” Morant already seems open to an extended embrace with Portland and Oregon. He talked Saturday about his newfound love of nature. In his home state of South Carolina this summer, he has been biking, kayaking and fishing.
In relation to this, Portland head coach Micah Nori stands convinced that Ja Morant will live up to his words, as he believes that the star guard will be fully committed to the team's benefit and for the sake of winning. "Well, I don't know," Nori said on SiriusXM NBA Radio about Morant's comments about his role in the Trail Blazers. "I take people at their word. You can say it, and if it has to come to that, I'll say, 'Hey, you said you didn't care,' number one. But the second thing is, I really believe guys like Ja, Dame [Lillard], and Jrue [Holiday] that have been through it and been around want to win. "Winning is the most important thing. If you can put yourself in a position to do that, whether it's coming off the bench or starting, as long as you get your minutes, I would never say it's easy."
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Mr. BuckBuck: Ja Morant about what he learned from his new teammates: "They ragebait a lot. They ragebait a lot, for sure. I feel it's just to turn a competitive, you know, edge, to us. Deni (Avdija) definitely number one, but he for sure like ragebait people to try to make you respond, or get you mad, so when we have to play or something, you have an edge already".
Drew Hill: I asked Ja Morant if this trade will add to the chip on his shoulder. “Oh, for sure,” he said. In what ways? “You’ll see."
Drew Hill: Ja Morant is welcoming a fresh start. He said he wants to show Portland a "different Ja." But that reality is still sinking in. "I'm definitely grateful for my time in Memphis," he said. "That will always be home for me."
Ben Golliver: Blazers guard Ja Morant said his “bad guy” image is a misconception: “I’ve done what I’ve done in the past, but it’s been addressed and handled already. I don’t see why years later that’s still the topic when nothing’s happened since.”
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"Obviously I didn't know it was going to happen," Boozer said July 2. "Ja is a great player. It's not our decision to make. It's the front office's (decision). I think we got a great young core. I think that's what they're looking to build off of, so I think (the future) is really exciting. "Obviously it sucks to lose a guy as good as Ja, what he's done for the city and the team, but it's part of the business."
NBA on ESPN: Ja Morant will wear No. 1 with the Trail Blazers next season, the team announced 🔥 The new number replaces the No. 12 Morant has worn at every level since high school.
The Milwaukee Bucks, league sources told The Athletic, engaged the Grizzlies on potential trades for Morant as early as January, when it became known Morant was on the market. Those sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the deliberations, said discussions continued periodically up until Monday, when the Bucks chose not to go through with the trade.
For two hours, they dined and talked in a South Carolina steakhouse, and what Portland Trail Blazers coach Micah Nori noticed most about his lunch partner was the sincerity of his words, the seriousness of his facial expressions, and the excitement that was unable to be contained. Ja Morant told his new coach that he couldn’t wait to play for the Blazers. “I think we are going to get the best version of Ja,” Nori said. “I think we are going to get a motivated Ja.”
