The Ja Morant situation has concerned many NBA fans and analysts over the last week, as Morant was suspended for 2 games for flashing a gun in a Denver club.
Andscape analyst Marc Spears suggested the Grizzlies go after veteran Carmelo Anthony, given the similar struggles to Morant that Anthony faced earlier in his career.
“There are a lot of similarities between Ja and Carmelo Anthony early in his career, and a lot of the issues that Carmelo had. He ended up getting an honest group of people around him, family, business people, and teammates, that basically told him what he was doing wrong and how to stop, and how to move on, use basketball as a tool for greatness. If you look at Melo now, all the things that went on early in his career are a side note to all the good things he’s done on the court… Memphis Grizzlies, Carmelo is a free agent. This is an elite player who knows what Ja has gone through and who’s higher than him in terms of career success. Why not bring Carmelo Anthony into that locker room and have him sit next to Ja and have him end up making all these things a footnote in his career.”
Melo has spoken about how David Stern personally asked him to clean up his circle. Adding a respected veteran on the Memphis roster like Carmelo may pay dividends, given what the team is trying to achieve. Even if he isn’t contributing heavy minutes, a presence like that is the key ingredient for most young and rebuilding NBA teams.
Will Signing Carmelo Anthony Help The Grizzlies?
On the court, the team has proven to be susceptible to injury. Having a veteran body like Melo to absorb minutes and possibly even be used in certain situations where the team needs a bucket could be valuable. He averaged 13.3 points and 4.2 rebounds last season for the Lakers.
Off the court, Anthony went through rough times early in his career. This included arrests for marijuana possession, driving under the influence, and suspensions due to on-court incidents. He became a far more tempered player later in his career and is no longer associated with the mistakes he made at a young age. What Anthony knows could really help Morant, provided Ja Morant wants the help, and the Grizzlies are willing to sign Melo to be an on-court contributor as well as a mentor for Morant.
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