Ja Morant brandished a gun at a club in the Denver area on Instagram Live He got a slap on the wrist from the NBA. Then he did it again, this time in a car with a friend this season, and Commissioner Adam Silver responded with a 25-game suspension Morant will be sidelined for the season until before Christmas.
Some people have come up with reasons or excuses to defend Morant — but not his father, T. Morant. Speaking at the Up Next Elite Camp in New Orleans, the elder Morant was candid about the situation.
My son didn’t get in trouble for the people around him, he got in trouble for his decisions. So always be careful with whatever decision you make because it can control you to a great extent and destroy you and make you think like this. You are what you are not…
“The smallest thing you can do can make the biggest difference in your life. I get kind of emotional when I talk about life and living… but I’m just telling you to make the right decisions.”
The Grizzlies look like a team that is on track to compete for a title in a few years. However, it was also a roster that shot itself in the foot due to what NBC’s Corey Robinson described as their “punk rock attitude.” The Memphis front office made a few moves this offseason and let it go Dillon Brooks Go (to Houston) and bring the meaningless veteran Marcus Smart (also Derrick Rose from the bench). The goal was clear: inject some maturity and down-to-earth focus into the roster.
However, as T. Morant pointed out, it ultimately comes down to decisions. It’s up to the players to make the Grizzlies live up to their potential.