Ja Morant is falling from the heights of NBA superstardom very quickly. ESPN released an expansive article earlier today that explained how Morant went from a good-natured and humble rookie to the problem child he is today. Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins and other players have blasted the article that came out today.
“I read the article, and I’m not going to comment on anonymous sources,” Jenkins said. “I’m not really going to comment on the past. I’m really just focused on the present and the strides he is making, positive strides and the strides that the team is making.”
Grizzlies’ center Xavier Tillman isn’t happy about the Morant story being brought back up after months despite Morant not making any mistakes to prompt such a story.
“It’s really on the annoying side. Everybody knows about the situation, and we are all working to get past it. The fact that we are bringing it up and nothing else is going on is kind of like, ‘What are we doing?’”
Desmond Bane secured a big extension this summer and is expected to be Morant’s backcourt partner for the future. He’s also a leader in the Grizzlies’ locker room and vowed his and the team’s support towards Morant.
“People are bringing up anything they can just to have something for people to read,” Bane said. “We ain’t worried about that. We are with 12. We are keeping everything in-house. We are holding everything together. We will have his back through it all.”
Morant will be suspended for the first 25 games of the season. This is expected to cost him $7.7 million in salary this season along with making him ineligible to be an All-Star or All-NBA player, no matter how well he plays. Given how tightly packed the West is, if the Grizzlies fail in the 25 games without Morant, it may not be enough for Ja to return and lead them to a successful season.
ESPN Revealed Tee Morant’s Role In His Son’s Actions
One of the main things that most people are having a problem with is the discussion on Tee Morant, Ja’s father. Tee has been a very visible face in the NBA in recent seasons, being seen courtside as a very public supporter of his son. ESPN implied Tee is just living out the NBA dream he never got to himself.
“Tee has been a major driving force in all of this. He never made the NBA, but this was his chance to live like he’s an NBA superstar. That’s been a problem from the beginning.”
Tee isn’t the only one benefitting off his son’s NBA notoriety, with Morant’s mother allegedly threatening a sneaker store employee in Memphis and having many of their family members and people close to Ja threaten the employee. A culture of bad behavior has gone unchecked by the Grizzlies, which would explain why the coach and the players are defensive.
Morant has been taken through the media ringer this offseason. It’ll continue until it’s obvious he has distanced himself from the people and habits that keep dragging him down.
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