The Memphis Grizzlies lost 117-112 to the Los Angeles Lakers at the FedExForum on Friday in the NBA Cup, but it would appear there are bigger things to worry about. Ja Morant had a game to forget against the Lakers, and he made it clear postgame that he isn’t all too happy with Grizzlies head coach Tuomas Iisalo and his staff.
When asked what went wrong on the night, Morant had a simple response.
“Go ask the coaching staff,” Morant said.
A reporter then asked if there was anything Morant could have done differently, and the answer didn’t change much.
“You go ask them,” Morant stated. “They had a whole spiel in here.”
Morant had just eight points (3-14 FG), one rebound, seven assists, and one steal against the Lakers. The 26-year-old went scoreless in the second half (0-7 FG) as the Grizzlies blew a 69-55 halftime lead to drop to 3-3 on the season.
Morant, the second pick of the 2019 NBA Draft, playing poorly was bad enough, but he wasn’t exactly putting in a lot of effort on the court either. When asked about not having the usual energy on the court, the two-time All-Star stated, yet again, that they should ask the coaches about it.
The same answer was also given when Morant, who played 31 minutes against the Lakers, was asked if he should be playing more. By this point, it seemed the media was only going to get that response out of the guard.
A reporter then tried his luck by asking Morant what could have been done differently to get a different outcome, other than asking the coaching staff, and he threw some gasoline on the fire.
“According to them, probably don’t play me, honestly,” Morant said. “That’s what basically the message was after. So, it’s cool.”
Ja Morant when asked questions from the media:
“Go ask the coaching staff.”
And then asked what could have been done differently, other than asking the coaching staff:
“According to them, probably don’t play me.”
(🎥 @50NuancesDeNBA)
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) November 1, 2025
That was brutal. It only seems like a matter of time before we see major changes in Memphis.
As for what Iisalo had to say, well, the reporters didn’t get to ask him anything. According to Chris Herrington, his press availability coincided with Morant’s, so the local media never got the opportunity to speak to him after the game. We’ll have to wait for a while to hear what Iisalo thinks about all that his star guard had to say.
This appears to be the second time that Morant has had issues with a head coach in 2025. He reportedly didn’t like the offense that former head coach Taylor Jenkins had put in place. He was averaging career-low touches, and you’d imagine he wasn’t too upset when Jenkins was fired in March. Time will tell if Iisalo heads to the exit door this year, too.
Blake Griffin Called Out Ja Morant For His Lack Of Effort Against The Lakers
Morant’s lack of effort against the Lakers was evident, and Blake Griffin wasn’t happy about what he saw from the guard. Griffin bluntly called him out on Prime’s NBA studio show.
“I didn’t love what I saw from Ja Morant tonight,” Griffin said. “I mean, this is a guy who is insanely talented… For a guy that’s making $40 million and needs to be the leader on this team, I just don’t love it. I don’t know if he was not feeling well, if he’s hurt, but that to me is a very bad sign… It has to change.
“The Memphis Grizzlies will only go as far as Ja Morant takes them,” Griffin stated. “And when he’s engaged, I mean, we’ve seen it, he’s unbelievable. He’s an all-world talent. But that type of effort right there, that’s the thing that we will call out.”
Blake Griffin calls out Ja Morant’s not playing hard or being engaged 👀 pic.twitter.com/EMbIoiE8pA
— Oh No He Didn’t (@ohnohedidnt24) November 1, 2025
If Morant keeps up that level of effort the rest of the season, the Grizzlies are going nowhere. You’d like to believe there will be an improvement on that front when they take on the Toronto Raptors next at Scotiabank Arena on Sunday at 6 PM ET.
