NEW YORK (AFP) — Two-time National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star guard Ja Morant is being traded from the Memphis Grizzlies to Portland in exchange for forwards Jerami Grant and Kris Murray, ESPN reported on Monday.

Morant, selected by Memphis with the second overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, averaged 22.4 points, 7.4 assists and 4.6 rebounds a game for the Grizzlies over seven seasons.

But he played only 20 games this past season with calf and ankle injuries and was in just nine games in the 2023-24 campaign due to suspension and a right shoulder injury.

His time in Memphis, however, was mired in controversy.

In March 2023, the NBA conducted an investigation into a video of Morant displaying a gun at a Colorado nightclub, which led to an eight-game suspension.

When another Instagram video in May showed him displaying a gun, he was issued a 25-game suspension for the start of the 2023-24 campaign.

The Grizzlies traded forward Jaren Jackson Jr. to Utah in February and sent guard Desmond Bane to Orlando last June and Morant’s departure completes the departure of what had been a young core of stars.

The move comes just ahead of the start of NBA free agency, which could produce several moves by top names to other clubs for new contracts.

In 12 NBA seasons, Grant has averaged 13.5 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.7 assists over 776 games for Philadelphia, Oklahoma City, Denver, Detroit and Portland.

Murray, 25, has averaged 5.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists a game over three seasons with Portland.