Портлэнд Трэйл Блэйзерсийн шинэ дасгалжуулагч Мика Нори болон Жа Морант нар Өмнөд Каролинад уулзаж, багийн ирээдүйн талаар ярилцлаа.
Портлэнд Трэйл Блэйзерс даваа гарагт Жа Морантыг багтаа нэгтгэсэн бөгөөд дасгалжуулагч Мика Нори шинэ тоглогчтойгоо уулзахдаа түүний чин сэтгэл, эрч хүчтэй байдлыг онцолжээ. Морант өөрийн гэмтэл бэртлээс бүрэн ангижирч, багийнхаа төлөө шилдэг тоглолтоо үзүүлэхэд бэлэн байгаагаа илэрхийлсэн байна. Тэрээр Мемфис Гриззлис дэх сүүлийн жилүүдэд сагсан бөмбөгийн баяр баясгалангаа алдсан байсан ч Портлэндэд ирснээр дахин ялалт байгуулах хүсэл тэмүүлэлтэй болсноо хуваалцжээ.
Мика Нори Морантын талаарх хуучин хамтран тоглогчид болон багийн удирдлагуудын санал бодлыг судалсны үндсэн дээр түүнийг сайн тоглогч төдийгүй багийнханд хайртай хувь хүн гэж дүгнэв. Дасгалжуулагч багийн тоглолтын арга барилаа өөрчилж, Морант болон бусад холбон тоглогчдын шийдвэр гаргах чадварыг ашиглан будагтай талбайд илүү үр дүнтэй тоглох төлөвлөгөөтэй байна.
Портлэнд Трэйл Блэйзерс одоо Дамиан Лиллард, Жрю Холидэй, Скут Хэндэрсон болон Жа Морант гэсэн холбон тоглогчдын бүрэлдэхүүнтэйгээр өрсөлдөхөөр зэхэж байна. Мика Нори энэхүү олон талт бүрэлдэхүүн нь багийн хувьд давуу тал болно гэж үзэж байгаа бөгөөд Жрю Холидэйг багийн чухал хэсэг хэвээр үлдээх бодолтой байгаагаа илэрхийлжээ. Уулзалтын төгсгөлд Морант багийнхаа шинэ дүрэмт хувцсыг өмсөж, шинэ сорилтыг хүлээж авахад бэлэн байгаагаа дахин нотолсон юм.
Дэлгэрэнгүй эх сурвалжийг харах
Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
For two hours, they dined and talked in a South Carolina steakhouse, and what Portland Trail Blazers coach Micah Nori noticed most about his lunch partner was the sincerity of his words, the seriousness of his facial expressions and the excitement that was unable to be contained.
Ja Morant told his new coach that he couldn’t wait to play for the Blazers.
“I think we are going to get the best version of Ja,” Nori said. “I think we are going to get a motivated Ja.”
The Tuesday lunch between the newest tentpoles of the Trail Blazers was glazed in serendipity. Before Nori was hired by the Blazers last week, he had a family vacation planned in Myrtle Beach for this week. So when the Blazers traded for Morant onMondayand learned the soon-to-be 27-year-old was in his hometown of Dalzell, S.C., the two connected and agreed to meet in Columbia – an approximate 2 ½-hour drive for Nori and a 45-minute drive for Morant.
When they sat down at the restaurant, Morant noted that four days earlier, before he was traded from Memphis to Portland, he received a piece of mail at his childhood home. On the back of the envelope were the words trail blazer.
“You know, some things just happen for a reason,” Nori remembers Morant saying.
What happens next will be viewed under a microscope that extends beyond Portland.
Once one of the NBA’s rising superstars, Morant’s shine has dulled amid injuries and controversial off-the-court behavior. He has been suspended twice by the NBA — once for eight games and once for 25 games — for conduct detrimental to the league after he brandished firearms in social media posts.
He was also suspended one game by Memphis for conduct detrimental to the team after an argument with his head coach.
The climate in Memphis became so volatile that the Grizzlies decided Morant was detrimental to their future and parted with what had once been their franchise pillar for the mere return of Jerami Grant and Kris Murray.
It didn’t help, either, that Morant’s body — a sleek 6-foot-2, 175–pound frame — had broken down over the years due to injuries to his elbow, hip and shoulder, which limited him to 79 games over the past three seasons.
However, when Nori settled into the steakhouse booth on Tuesday, he saw none of the petulance, none of the defiance, none of the attitude that has colored Morant’s image.
Nori said he couldn’t help but notice the way Morant talked and carried himself. There was seriousness, enthusiasm and focus.
“The way he was talking, the way he looked … the intent he had, you could just tell in his face that he missed basketball,” Nori said. “And he assured that we were going to get the best Ja and that he was going to do all the right things.”
Nori, the former lead assistant in Minnesota, had done his research. He talked with Kyle Anderson, who played with Morant in Memphis before being coached by Nori in Minnesota. He spoke with one of his former players, Mike Miller, who used to represent Morant as an agent. And he talked with Steve Senior, who was in the front office of both Memphis and Minnesota.
“Our lunch basically confirmed everything I had heard from the people who had worked with him daily, who would talk about him as a person, the people I trust who would tell me the truth,” Nori said. “And I told him the background I have on him, and that they had nothing but great things to say about him, not only as a player, but as a person and a teammate.
“All his teammates love him.”
Nori said he told Morant that he has a blank slate in Portland: The canvas is his to write the next chapter of his story.
“I told him the Trail Blazers don’t need you to do anything special,” Nori said. “Just be you, be the best version of yourself.”
Why the Portland Trail Blazers traded for Ja Morant
Esfandiar Baraheni and Jeshua Kidd
It was early in the lunch that Nori realized something profound about Morant: His relationship with basketball had been rekindled. He spoke about being rejuvenated not only because his body no longer carried an injury, but also because the team is in a position to win in Portland.
In the latter part of his seven seasons in Memphis, the Grizzlies went from perennial playoff contenders to tank artists, and in that time, Nori said Morant told him he lost his joy for the game.
“All throughout the lunch, we didn’t talk about playing time; we didn’t talk about rotations; he didn’t ask me to start,” Nori said. “All he kept talking about was how the most fun he had playing basketball was those first couple years in Memphis, when they were in the playoffs. He kept talking about how he was excited to have the opportunity to win basketball games and not have to play for ping-pong balls.”
Nori knows there are questions about how Morant fits on a Blazers team that appears intent on carrying four point guards with Damian Lillard, Jrue Holiday and Scoot Henderson. The coach, known for his offensive creativity, says the stable of point guards is not a problem, but a luxury.
He says he is reshaping the Blazers’ playbook. Instead of an offense that is reliant upon drive-and-kick, the Blazers will now likely feature more pick-and-rolls to take advantage of the four point guards, who are all elite decision makers and all willing passers.
Nori’s sets are predicated on quick decisions and sharp passing, and Morant and the Blazers guards are a perfect fit.
“There are several ways to create advantage on offense … and when you are guard-oriented, it changes for the better because it creates more options for us because it all goes back to decision makers and ballhandlers,” he said.
He also thinks the Blazers can create “confusion” with small lineups that slip and pick. And if teams back off Morant, who is just a 31-percent 3-point shooter, Nori welcomes it.
Ja Morant’s Top 5 Moments with the Memphis Grizzles
“You don’t have the luxury of closing out short to Ja Morant, because now that he is healthy, that space is going to be taken up very, very quickly,” Nori said, noting Morant’s explosive first step. “And then, once he is in the paint, he is one of the best finishers.”
On Wednesday, Nori left South Carolina for Los Angeles, where he will meet the veteran Holiday. He said he wants to get across to Holiday that, despite the trade for Morant, Holiday features heavily in the team’s plans, barring a deal too good to pass up.
“I know a lot of people think that these are going to be chain-reaction trades — and who knows how it is going to go, but Jrue Holiday is a big part of what we’ve got going,” Nori said. “And I just want to let him know that I’m going to continue putting him in positions to be successful, and that he’s earned the right to talk to me about what he is comfortable doing.”
Nori doesn’t know if he ends up with four point guards, but he knows he welcomes the idea of keeping them all. As he told Morant and plans to tell Holiday, the Blazers can create “confusion” with their small lineups, with guards slipping and picking and running teams ragged.
In South Carolina, as Morant finished eating and the two returned to talking, Nori could sense Morant was embarking on more than just a new city, a new team. Morant was already envisioning how his new chapter would read.
“I’m telling you … you could almost sense it,” Nori said. “The way he was talking, the way he looked, the intent he had … he’s a quiet, confident kid and he knows what he is capable of. And now that he is healthy, and the situation he is coming into? He can write his own story with it.”
By the time lunch was ending, Nori was “beyond encouraged” by what he had heard from Morant. He loved how Morant enthusiastically went down the Blazers roster and talked about the talent he was joining.
“He’s excited to be on a team with vets like Dame and Jrue, and he loves the young talent of Deni (Avdija), Scoot, (Donovan) Clingan, (Toumani) Camara … I mean, he mentioned them all by name,” Nori said.
As they left the restaurant, Nori asked Morant what he needed from him. How could he help?
“He just said, ‘Make sure I get some Trail Blazers gear as soon as possible so I can start wearing it,’ ” Nori said.
Nori chuckled and told him he was on it. Then Nori ventured onto the University of South Carolina campus, where his daughter, Mia, will be attending in the fall. She tasked him with taking pictures of her dorm and the surrounding areas.
As Nori was fitting the dorm building into the frame of his phone, a text slid over the screen. It was from Morant. He thanked the coach for the talk and told him to drive home safely. Nori texted back and told him the next couple of years are going to be great.
Morant texted back.
“I’m ready.”
