It's Time for the Grizzlies to Move on From Ja Morant
/
You all know that I'm a big Memphis Grizzlies fan. The moment Kevin Durant left OKC, I followed the Thunder after Oklahoma City stole the SuperSonics from Seattle, I shifted my allegiance. I eventually ended up picking Memphis as my new NBA team pretty much due to proximity and the way they play. It was an easy shift for me.
Shortly after I became a fan of the Grizzlies they started to get good. They got a high pick, Ja Morant, more on him in a second, and I couldn't have been happier that they were relevant almost instantly after I chose them as my new team. They never reached the highest highs, they never even got to the conference finals, but they were fun to watch, and that was pretty much all due to the arrival of Ja Morant. He looked to be becoming a superstar. I felt he was going to be a perennial all star and all NBA type of guy. I felt like he was going to be one of the new faces, taking over for LeBron James. It all seemed good.
Then Morant decided he had to wave a gun on the internet. We all know what happened after that. Morant portrayed himself as a "tough guy". He is not. He grew up totally fine. I believe he lived in the suburbs. He went to college in small town Kentucky. Nothing about his past screams tough guy or someone who struggled. The whole gun thing really put a wrench in his game. He got suspended. Then he got hurt. The Grizzlies struggled without him. They just didn't have the juice. He came back last season and the team was better. But it wasn't due to Morant's game or his ability as a point guard. Jaren Jackson Jr became Defensive Player of the Year. Desmond Bane, man do I miss him right now, became a true number one scoring option. I liked the Zach Edey pick. I feel like he can replace some of the things I miss now that Steven Adams is gone. And some other, less notable players started to show out enough. Then the Grizzlies really limped to the finish line, got throttled by the Thunder in round one and they were done. During the late season swoon they let their head coach go, seemingly to appease Morant, apparently he didn't like the offense being run, and they brought in a new guy.
Going into this season I had no true expectations. I hoped they would be solid, maybe fight for the 6 seed in the West. They have not looked like that team so far, and now with Morant's attitude during a recent game against the Lakers, I'm ready for them to move on.
I love Ja Morant. He was one of my favorite young players in the league. I ranked him ahead of Zion Williamson in the draft when they were the undisputed one and two players. I was so stoked that the Grizzlies drafted him and that he made them almost instantly better. But the time has come to move off of him. He has become too much of a headache now. The attitude he displayed in that game was horrendous. He looked disinterested. He was not involved in team huddles in the second half. He made snarky comments to the media after the Lakers game, ostensibly blaming the coaches for his attitude. They suspended him for one game, he made some social media posts trying to ease any tension and frustration. All of that is far too little, far too late. I am fully ready for the team to revolve around JJJ. He shows up every night, he is ready to play, he tries as hard as he can when he is on the floor and I'm okay with the Grizzlies making him the new face of the franchise.
I have read that the trade market for Morant is very, very small. I don't care at this point. Go get whatever you can get Grizzlies. Find a group of guys as opposed to a superstar. Get three young dudes and some draft picks. Find something, anything that will help this team. But when they go out searching for a trade, if they even do, find guys that are actually interested in playing for the Memphis Grizzlies.
I know that Morant loves Memphis, and Memphis loves him, and I still adore him as a player, but the time has come. They have to move on. This has been going on for three plus seasons now. It doesn't seem like he has learned any lessons. If I have a player, I coach eighth graders by the way, that shows the attitude Morant showed, I'd bench them. Morant has to understand that he is a role model to young players and that his actions speak loudly to them. But, as a Grizzlies fan and a Ja Morant fan, I'm ready for both parties to separate and go their own ways.
Ty
Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.