Boozer's triple-double matters, but Memphis already won the Morant trade

Is it too early to say Memphis won the Ja Morant trade? Yes. We're going to say it anyway, with the caveats attached. The Grizzlies had the best script possible on the night their old franchise player came back: a rookie triple-double, a 21-point road win and a 5-0 record.

Here is what happened. As ESPN's game recap tells it, Cameron Boozer had the first triple-double of his NBA career, with 18 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists, in a 124-103 win over Portland. At 19 years and 103 days old, The Athletic notes, he became the second-youngest player in league history to do it. Morant finished with 14 points after struggling with his shot, and he left in the fourth quarter with a left hamstring injury. The severity is unclear.

The triple-double is the symptom, not the diagnosis

Triple-doubles are fun, and this one is a big night for a rookie. But the number that tells us more about Boozer is not in the headline line. Before this game, Blazers Edge described him as shooting just 27.9% from the field while still posting a +9 average plus-minus. That is a player who helps you win before the jumper falls.

That is the point we'd stress. A rookie who scores efficiently on a bad team is a stats story. A rookie who passes, rebounds and keeps his team afloat while his shot is off is a foundation. Thursday's 12 assists suggest the shot is the part most likely to come around.

Memphis didn't just dump a problem; it got a clean slate

The Grizzlies sent Morant to Portland for Jerami Grant and Kris Murray. Oregonlive's description is blunt: an expiring contract and a first-round disappointment. On paper, that looks like a lopsided deal for Portland. CBS Sports even called it a steal for the Blazers.

We disagree, at least on the Memphis side. The AOL report on the game lays out the context. Morant's Memphis years were often defined by off-court trouble, including a suspension last season after a reported spat with coach Tuomas Iisalo. Some assets are worth less than their talent suggests, and a star who no longer fits the building can be one of them. In our view, Memphis got out from under that turbulence and now has a roster that looks built around a rookie centerpiece. The trade didn't have to bring one back.

Don't crown anyone yet

The skeptics have a case, and we should be honest about it. CBS Sports points out that all four of Memphis' earlier opponents were well under.500 and that the Grizzlies caught some injury breaks. Ty Jerome, who was averaging 29.8 points a night through four games, looks to us like a hot streak, and CBS suggests selling high on him. Portland, for its part, is a real, fun team, with Morant playing a complementary role and shooting well from deep through his first three games, as Rip City Project noted before the game. That hot shooting will likely cool.

Still, a rebuild that starts 5-0 is doing something right. CBS describes Memphis' future as built around Boozer, Cedric Coward and Zach Edey, not around one scorer's availability. If the Grizzlies keep winning with that mix, the trade verdict will keep tilting their way.

Portland got the better player, Memphis the better deal

Portland got the better player today, and if the hamstring is minor, Morant may thrive as a third option next to Damian Lillard and Deni Avdija. That is a good outcome for him, and he deserves it. But the better trade is not always the one that lands the better player. Memphis bought a clean slate, and on Thursday it showed what it can build on one.

Our advice: enjoy the triple-double, but watch the next 20 games, not this one. If Boozer's shooting rises toward his playmaking and Jerome cools without the team collapsing, the Grizzlies will have won this deal in a way the box score of a trade day never showed.