In a segment on First Take, Stephen A. Smith paused the show to speak on Ja Morant ahead of his 25-game suspension this season. Looking back on all of Morant’s mistakes, Stephen A. took a brutal approach against the young star and explained the penalty that awaited him for further transgressions.
“The punishment has already come down, the die is cast. Ja Morant, he’s responsible. The company that you keep, he’s responsible for that. He’s not a child. He is a young man, and he has to be accountable for the decisions that he made. He looked at the Commissioner, and lied to his face… now he needs to keep his behind out of trouble! Don’t mess around with guns, leave that to somebody else, because the next time this happens I can promise you the penalty coming down from the NBA will be far far stiffer than this 25-gamer suspension.”
.@stephenasmith on Ja Morant and the last 18 months: pic.twitter.com/EYyVN0tQKV
— First Take (@FirstTake) October 19, 2023
The story with Ja has been a long one and it involves many angles, but Morant is hoping to put it behind him now after he completes his suspension this season. As long as he stays out of trouble, reconciliation is possible for the young superstar, but it will take some time before his reputation starts to recover.
Morant Is On Thin Ice
In just four seasons in the NBA, ja has been involved in more scandals than most players in their entire career. Over just the past 18 months, the list of incidents includes multiple physical altercations like the one in front of his sister at a High School volleyball game and the one where Morant knocked out a teenager after a pickup basketball game gone wrong. That’s not to mention Morant’s mistake of getting caught twice brandishing a gun on his Instagram Live, which earned universal backlash on social media.
This season, Morant won’t even have a chance to redeem himself until 25 games into the campaign, when his suspension finally gets lifted. At that point, what kind of performance can fans expect then? Without a doubt, Morant is riding on thin ice right now, and the situation for the Grizzlies remains volatile just a few weeks into the season.
Grizzlies Are A Wild Card In The West
In the 2023-23 campaign, Memphis looked like a title contender for much of the season and at one point even had the best record in the West. But without Morant for 25 games, the Grizzlies may struggle to stay afloat in a deep and loaded Western Conference that includes the Suns, Warriors, Lakers, and defending champion Denver Nuggets.
The only real path to success for the Grizzlies is through a miracle season for Morant. If he can come back and pick up where he left off last year, it could make the Grizzlies a serious threat to make a deep playoff run. With averages of 26.2 points, 8.1 assists, and 5.9 rebounds per game last season, Morant has shown he is among the elite point guards and the Grizzlies are unstoppable when he’s at his best. But until he gets his mind right, and stays out of trouble, the Grizzlies will never achieve their potential and will always be an afterthought in the race for the title.
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