Former Miami Heat superstar Dwyane Wade chimed in on Ja Morant’s rocky situation with the Memphis Grizzlies. Having had similar issues during his career, he added a perspective that covers both sides of the coin: team management and the individual.
The Grizzlies have had a horrible start to the year, going 4-8 at the beginning of the season. Morant has been a shadow of himself, averaging 18.9 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 8.0 assists, shooting just 14.8% from the three-point line and 35.8% from the field in the first 11 games played.
Wade talked about the misfortune of the situation in Memphis on his podcast, ‘The Time Out,’ because the Grizzlies were on their way to build something special. The culture they’d already built there, and the chemistry between the players, were slowly coming together under Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr.
“It was very unfortunate when you have a relationship that was obviously a few years ago, looked very promising for the guys and the city of Memphis. Now we’re here, where it’s not looking promising.”
“Obviously, can you make up, can you mend certain things? Yeah. But both sides should be willing to do that. So, you’re in the space now where the media starts leaking in. You got other teams out there that’re going like this (imitates picking up a phone) ‘So, let’s talk about Ja.’ That wasn’t in the picture,” Wade said.
The former Miami Heat star had his own issues with management while playing. First, he got into a contract dispute with the Heat. Then he moved to the Chicago Bulls, where he again struggled to adjust to the culture and meet expectations.
“And now it complicates things a lot. It’s early in the season, and you have a team that came in with some hope. They had their guys healthy to start the year; you were gonna see Ja and triple J play together, healthy. They haven’t really done that in the last two years.”
“They came in with some excitement, and then here we go. We ain’t ten games into the season, and now you got other teams calling,” he added.
He compared the situation to Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat. Just like they were building something special and had gotten close to it as well, the Grizzlies were also set to go on a potential deep playoff run with two of their superstars playing healthy on the team.
“Just like I said with Jimmy, I don’t like it for the game. And I know all the parts of it are part of the game. This is all part of entertainment. So, everything can’t be Pleasantville.”
“But I know most of the time when it gets like this, the player is the one who’s really going to be painted as the bad guy when it comes down to it. The organization gets a chance to hide behind the shield. The player has to be out there, as his name,” the former NBA champ said.
It looks like it will be difficult for both parties to survive this together. It is becoming highly likely that Morant finds a new place to call home by the start of next season, or maybe even by the end of this one.
“Hopefully, Ja weathers it. As a former player, I saw Rudy Gay talk about this the other night. If you could go back and handle certain situations differently, you would.”
“And in real time, you just want Ja to focus on the game of basketball. You want to see Ja be Ja. No matter what’s going on behind the scenes or even in front of the camera. I still want to see you put on that show. I still want to see you be that player. When we talk about having that joy, we want to see that, and he doesn’t have that right now,” Wade concluded.
The Grizzlies should look at finding the most amicable way of moving on. The situation does not look like one that can be fixed, so both sides should find the most value for themselves and end it on a polite and cordial note before it gets even messier.
