Murray State's NBA Alumni | Week of Sept. 13–19, 2026
Ja Morant is ready to move on — and he's not hiding it.
The Murray State product, traded from the Memphis Grizzlies to the Portland Trail Blazers this offseason in a deal that sent wing Jerami Grant and additional assets to Memphis, went public this week with his real-time reaction to learning about the trade. The video, which surfaced Friday and quickly went viral, showed Morant processing the news as it broke — offering fans a rare, unfiltered look at one of the league's biggest stars at a franchise-defining crossroads.
According to reporting from Heavy Sports, Morant's reaction was candid and emotionally raw, underscoring just how significant the departure was for a player who had been the face of the Grizzlies organization for years. But sentiment has given way to anticipation. In a separate interview covered by ClutchPoints, Morant detailed what he's most looking forward to ahead of his Portland debut — signaling that whatever complicated feelings accompanied the trade, his focus has shifted squarely to what comes next.
What comes next, it turns out, is a Portland roster that looks nothing like the one fans have grown accustomed to watching. Sports Illustrated reported that the Trail Blazers are undergoing sweeping changes for the 2026-27 campaign, headlined by the additions of both Morant and Damian Lillard, alongside first-year head coach Micah Nori. The arrivals of two former All-Star guards will ripple through the existing roster, with multiple players expected to see significant role changes as Portland remakes its identity around its new cornerstones.
The Morant-Lillard pairing is the kind of move that shifts a franchise's trajectory overnight. For Morant specifically, Portland represents a clean slate — a chance to recalibrate after a turbulent stretch in Memphis and reassert himself as one of the most explosive and dynamic players in the game. With fewer than two months until the 2026-27 season tips off, the countdown in Portland is already charged.
Elsewhere for the Racers: Cameron Payne remains on the Philadelphia 76ers roster as a backup point guard, though no notable activity was reported for the Murray State guard during this period.
For Racer Nation, the spotlight belongs squarely to Morant. The kid from Murray, KY is about to introduce himself to a new city — and if that viral reaction video is any indication, he's bringing every bit of his signature intensity with him to the Pacific Northwest.
AI-generated summary
