Portland's stunning Ja Morant trade might actually be about Jaylen Brown

The NBA world has been waiting for the Trail Blazers to make a trade for a superstar, and they finally did, but not the one you might be expecting. We were all waiting for that Shams notification that Jaylen Brown had been traded to Portland, but instead, it’s Ja Morant that’s heading to the Pacific Northwest.

On Monday afternoon, the Blazers traded Jerami Grant and Kris Murray to the Grizzlies for the mercurial Ja Morant. On the surface, it may look like this is the Blazers’ big move, and that’s exactly what Shams Charania reported in the immediate aftermath of the deal, but that doesn’t make a lot of sense.

Trail Blazers have too many guards now

The Blazers are now left with a guard room featuring Ja Morant, Damian Lillard, Jrue Holiday, and Scoot Henderson. That’s a peculiar fit, to say the least. They also have guys who thrive with the ball in Deni Avdija and Shaedon Sharpe on the roster as well, who are basically big guards.

That would be a bizarre roster construction that’s way too heavy in the backcourt. When you look a little more closely, the roster is arguably more in need of a Jaylen Brown type player than ever, plus they have an extra guard (or two) to spare.

It’s not crazy at all to think that Boston was playing hardball with Portland, in large part, because they didn’t want to take back Grant’s contract. Now, that’s not in play as the Blazers have large salaries in Morant, Holiday, Sharpe, and others. 

Jrue Holiday reunion in Boston makes sense for both sides

Holiday would be much more desirable in Boston than Grant would have, and his job in Portland seemingly just got taken. On top of that, the Ja trade has taken away key minutes from Scoot, who needs to develop. A trade of Holiday, Henderson, and ideally Donovan Clingan, but probably Shaedon Sharpe, and a lot of draft picks would be very practical for the Blazers.

They’d be left with a dynamic backcourt of Morant and Lillard, flanked by two big wings who can defend in Brown and Toumani Camara, plus they’d have their center in either Clingan or they could bring back Rob Williams, or possibly even get another center in this deal or another one.

For the Celtics, it would certainly make a Jaylen Brown trade a lot easier to stomach if they brought back Holiday, who would fill an immediate need as a third guard next to Derrick White and Payton Pritchard. The Cs would also get back a promising prospect in Scoot and valuable draft assets. 

There’s no reason they couldn’t turn around and flip Scoot and the picks for another player, maybe Trey Murphy III, or someone of that ilk. If they can come away with Clingan or Timelord in the process, even better. Ultimately, a JB trade is going to be crushing for many fans no matter what, but this would be a pretty strong return that could reunite fans with a hero or two from the past.

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