Ja Morant’s long trade saga with the Memphis Grizzlies ended with a trade to the Portland Trail Blazers with some potential external intervention.
Morant joins a crowded guard room in Portland alongside Damian Lillard, Scoot Henderson, and Jrue Holiday, but it could be a high-upside guard core that returns the Blazers to competitiveness.
The franchise’s decision to add Morant to an already-crowded guard core might have some external factors.
Nike reportedly wanted Ja Morant in Portland
Veteran NBA reporter Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson has revealed that Morant getting traded to the same state as Nike’s headquarters might not have been a coincidence.
“Nike wants to keep an eye on him because they have a ton invested in him. From the Morant and Nike side, this will give him a chance to resurrect his career. We want him to change his image a little bit, but we still want him to be his authentic self.”
This doesn’t explain how Nike got the Trail Blazers to make the trade.
It might’ve been through internal assurances passed on by relevant parties since Nike is a major league and team sponsor, enjoying a close relationship with teams in their home state of Portland.
Morant is considered to be among the best sneaker faces in the modern NBA, with a major secondary sales platform, StockX, officially ranking Morant as the No. 2 best-selling signature basketball athlete on their entire platform.
Morant was supposed to be Nike’s face that replaced Kyrie Irving when the brand cut ties with the 2016 NBA Champion. It hasn’t worked out so far, but a career renaissance in Portland with Nike well-wishers around him might give him a boost.
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