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By Aman Sharma
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Ja Morant gets his first look at the Memphis Grizzlies from the other bench, and he insists there’s no score to settle.
The Portland Trail Blazers guard told The Athletic’s Jason Quick he’s on good terms with the organization that traded him, though his peace offering came with one caveat.
Asked about his old team, he didn’t hedge.
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“I’m cool with everybody over there,” Morant said. “I don’t got no hard feelings with nobody, unless they got it with me.”
Speaking at the team’s practice facility in Tualatin, Morant said he isn’t treating the game as personal. Both teams enter it unbeaten.
“It’s no different for me, just another basketball game on the schedule for us and we’re looking to stay undefeated,” he said.
His exit was anything but quiet. Morant drew three suspensions over his last four seasons in Memphis.
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Two of them came from the NBA for gun-related incidents. The Grizzlies issued the other for conduct detrimental to the team after he criticized coach Tuomas Iisalo.
Responsibility, he said, runs both ways.
“I take responsibility for stuff I’ve caused. But it wasn’t all me, though,” Morant said.
Memphis eventually sent him to Portland for Jerami Grant and Kris Murray. Before that, he won Rookie of the Year in 2019-20 and Most Improved Player in 2021-22, made two All-Star teams and led the Grizzlies to consecutive 50-win seasons.
Morant also left as the franchise’s all-time leader in points per game. His numbers in Portland have dropped to career lows, though the Blazers haven’t lost.
Beating his old team at Moda Center would keep Portland unbeaten, one early step toward that goal.
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