It’s safe to say Ja Morant is not a happy camper right now.
The star guard made that clear with his comments after the Memphis Grizzlies‘ 117-112 NBA Cup-opening loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night.
When asked about what went wrong after the Grizzlies blew a 14-point halftime lead, Morant simply said “go ask the coaching staff,” per Chris Herrington of the Daily Memphian.
Morant finished the game with a season-low eight points to go with seven assists as he shot 3-of-14 from the field and 0-of-6 from beyond the arc in 31 minutes. He scored just two of those points in the second half.
The two-time all-star was later asked what the Grizzlies could’ve done better after they dropped to 3-3 on the season, and he responded with “according to (the coaching staff), probably don’t play me.”
It’s unclear what exactly Morant was referring to, but he did enter the night averaging a career-low 28.0 minutes per game.
Head coach Tuomas Iisalo, who took over after Taylor Jenkins was fired late last season, was not immediately asked for comment on Morant’s thoughts post-game.
The 26-year-old has played in all six games for Memphis to start the season after making just 50 appearances last year due to injuries. He’s averaging 23.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, 6.6 assists and 1.0 steals this season, but Friday marked the first game this year he’s failed to reach double-digit scoring.