Damian Lillard Sees 'A Lot of Joy' in Ja Morant After Trade to Trail Blazers from Grizzlies

The early returns for Ja Morant with the Portland Trail Blazers appear to be very positive.

Speaking to The Athletic's Jason Quick , Damian Lillard pointed out he has seen "a lot of joy" in Morant since he joined the Blazers after an offseason trade with the Memphis Grizzlies.

"I feel like he has a lot of joy right now," Lillard said. "I read people well, you know? And I can tell he is not pretending to be happy, you know? He walks around with a smile. And when we practice, and he's talking, he's engaged, he's invested, and you are able to see that he's happy with his situation."

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Morant has hit a fascinating point in his career, needing to prove he can be an impact player again. He played a total of 79 games over his final three seasons with the Grizzlies.

The lack of availability helped contribute to Morant's trade value getting so low that Portland was able to acquire him from the Grizzlies in essentially a contract swap with Jerami Grant and Kris Murray going back to Memphis.

One thing that seemed to be missing for Morant at the end of his Memphis tenure was the athleticism and ability to attack the basket , but he looked good during the Blazers' fan fest on Sunday when he won MVP of the Black-Grey game.

Wednesday marked the first time Morant and Lillard played together in an official game when the Blazers kicked off their preseason schedule against the Golden State Warriors.

Morant finished with eight points, five assists and two steals in 19 minutes. Lillard, playing in his first game since tearing his Achilles on April 27, 2025, put up 15 points on 5-of-11 shooting in 19 minutes.

Blazers head coach Micah Nori used both Morant and Lillard in the starting lineup, though he has said he will tinker with the opening five throughout the preseason before deciding on the unit that will be used when the regular season begins.

The Blazers are hoping the addition of Morant and return of Lillard improves their fortunes in the Western Conference. They finished 42-40 last season and made the playoffs, losing as the No. 7 seed in the first round to the San Antonio Spurs, thanks to Deni Avdija's breakout campaign.