Ja Morant’s Melodrama Tips Into Tedium

Ja Morant and the Grizzlies were up 14 points on the Lakers at halftime of Friday's NBA Cup game. After halftime, Morant effectively stopped trying, and the Grizzlies went on to lose, 117-112. Morant ended with eight points and seven assists on 3-of-14 shooting.

After the game, a grumpy Morant spoke as if he'd been wronged by Grizzlies coaches, according to The Daily Memphian's Chris Herrington:

A visibly annoyed Ja Morant said “Go ask the coaching staff” when asked about what went wrong for him tonight. Asked what the team could have done better, he said “according to them, probably don’t play me,” apparently alluding to something that had been said in the locker room.

The Grizzlies suspended Morant for one game for conduct detrimental to the team. Here is that conduct, as described by Shams Charania on ESPN:

There has been tension in the last several days around Ja Morant and his feelings toward first-year head coach Tuomas Iisalo's rotation patterns, his plays, but it really culminated after—and during—the loss to the Lakers on Friday night, in the post-game locker room. Morant and Iisalo had an exchange where Iisalo called out Morant’s leadership and effort in front of the whole team. And as teammates and staffers all looked on, Morant responded in what the team deemed an inappropriate and dismissive way, according to sources.

Morant sat out the Grizzlies' loss to the Raptors on Sunday and returned to take part in their loss to the Pistons on Monday. After that game, where he had 18 points and 10 assists, Morant sullenly evaded questions about whether the conflict with the coaches had been resolved. "Do you feel like you get the same joy right now that we're used to seeing from you?" asked one reporter. "No," replied Morant. "Do you have any regrets about the way you played in the game [on Friday]?" asked another reporter. "That's your home run question? Sounds like a bait question," replied Morant.

Morant made the All-NBA Second Team in 2022, and it's been downhill ever since. In the 2022-23 season, Morant was suspended for 33 games after brandishing guns in two separate incidents. In the 2023-24 season, Morant played only nine games due to a season-ending shoulder injury. In the 2024-25 season, making Morant happy was reportedly a big factor in firing head coach Taylor Jenkins, whose democratic offensive scheme de-emphasized Morant's pick-and-roll play. This season, Morant is already fighting with the new coach and steering the once-intriguing Grizzlies to 3-5 mediocrity. He's no longer the caliber of player that might be worth this level of tedium. Not so long ago, the charismatic and flagrantly gifted draftmates Zion Williamson and Ja Morant looked like the future of the NBA. I'd love to be wrong, but it appears that they're going out like Stan Chera.