There have been some very talented players over the years who have lost everything due to off-the-court troubles and the hope is that Ja Morant doesn’t fall into that category.
Stephen A. Smith had covered Allen Iverson, who had his own troubles, in the past and he brought up the difference between the two men on NBA Countdown.
“When you look at Ja Morant,” Smith said. “The one thing that I find incredibly alarming, there was so much stuff that Allen Iverson took hits for that had nothing to do with him, but everything to do with the company he kept… In this particular instance, that’s Ja on film. That’s Ja you see on the TMZ video, he had no choice but to own that.”
He also then sent a message to Morant that this is simply not worth throwing his career away.
“You are a superstar,” Smith said. “You are 23 years old. You got a deal that kicks in next year that could exceed $231 million over the next five years and on this show on national television, there’s you associated with (the) police. Think about that for a second and then ask yourself if it is really really worth it. You know the answer to that bro, it’s not worth it.”
I covered Allen Iverson for the first 10 years of his career. He took a lot of hits for the company he kept.
Ja Morant’s fault is his own, and I’m proud of him for owning it.
But he needs to get it together. pic.twitter.com/hDqLYNzmUo
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) March 5, 2023
It is really not worth throwing away the life he can potentially go on to have. There are millions across the world who would do anything to be in the position that Ja is in. He is an NBA superstar who is averaging 27.1 PPG, 8.2 APG, and 6.0 RPG this season and has a deal that kicks in next season which could net him more than $200 million over five years.
He needs to let this side of himself go or else the rest of his life will be one full of regrets. He released a statement where he took responsibility, but actions speak a lot louder than words and all eyes will be on Morant to see how he behaves moving forward.
Jalen Rose Compared Morant’s Situation To His Own Troubled Past
For those unaware, Jalen Rose had quite a troubled past himself, along some of the same lines as Morant. He shared some of the things that he went through as part of a personal message to Morant.
“I am Ja Morant,” Rose said. “You guys have got a chance to see me grow up for public consumption since 1991. I’ve been involved in drug raids, I’ve survived assassination attempts, I’ve been that undisciplined young person that was trying to figure out how to be famous, how to be successful, and how to change the dynamics of my family.”
Rose then went on to echo much of the same that Smith had to say.
“He has way too much to lose,” Rose said. “Trust me, I’ve been that young player carrying a gun, and (Michael) Wilbon alluded to this: When you start waving it, that can get you killed. That’s an entirely different thing than we’re talking about a superstar athlete should be putting themself in position. And as Stephen A mentioned, that’s him on the video, on his IG Live. Ain’t nobody coaxing him, ain’t nobody egging him on to do that, that’s a personal choice.”
Jalen Rose shared a personal message on the Ja Morant situation: pic.twitter.com/cKvQX3Xcys
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) March 5, 2023
Rose would go on to say that Morant is going to come out a better person. He also made it clear that Ja needs to be more careful about the people he lets into his inner circle.
At the end of the day, no one has been hurt by his actions, except for the teenager he allegedly punched and while that isn’t okay to do by any means, it is something you can look past to an extent. Nothing involving a gun will be brushed aside though and Morant needs to change his ways before he does something that will ruin his and someone else’s life.
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