Trail Blazers shift Ja Morant to new role to balance out roster

Hours before the new-look Portland Trail Blazers tip-off the 2026-27 season on Wednesday night, a somewhat surprising development may make sense of how they will best utilize their roster. 

Ja Morant will start the season coming off the bench for Portland 

As first reported by Andscape and ESPN senior NBA writer Marc Spears, Ja Morant will come off the bench his Portland debut against the Phoenix Suns. 

The decision to use Morant, a two-time All-Star and consistent starter during his seven seasons with the Memphis Grizzlies, in a sixth man role and with the second team was based on the Trail Blazers' "backcourt logjam," per Spears. 

A 'backcourt logjam' is what's moving Ja Morant to the second unit 

"A major newcomer to the Blazers is two-time NBA All-Star guard Ja Morant, the former Memphis Grizzlies star who has been riddled by injuries and off-court drama in recent seasons. Due to the backcourt logjam, Morant is expected to come off the bench," wrote Spears. 

While the bench role will be different for Morant than what he's been used to, it had to happen. Morant playing next to face of the franchise and fellow point guard Damian Lillard as well as Jrue Holiday and Scoot Henderson in the starting lineup would've been redundant and create possible confusion on the court. It would've also made the Trail Blazers' starting five among the smallest in a Western Conference full of skilled bigs. 

Ja Morant off the bench will balance out Portland's roster 

Splitting the two All-Star guards up will add fire power to the second unit and make Portland more formidable offensively all throughout games. 

Morant will need to embrace his new position as the head of the second team if he hopes to revive his career. The 27-year-old former No. 2 overall pick in 2019 eventually wore out his welcome in Memphis, leading to an offseason trade to Portland. 

Through seven seasons and 327 games played, 325 of which were starts, Morant has averaged 22.4 points, 7.4 assists and 4.6 rebounds per contest. Morant was only able to play in 20 games in 2025-26 due to a UCL sprain in his left elbow, averaging a career-low 19.5 points when on the court.