Ja Morant sends clear message regarding his unhappiness with Grizzlies originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
It doesn’t take an expert to see that Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant hasn’t been happy this season. It’s been written all over his face, evident by his body language and reflected in his effort. Even Blake Griffin called him out over it. Why that is the case is up for debate, but the obvious unhappiness isn’t.
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Fresh off of serving a team-imposed one-game suspension for conduct deemed detrimental to the team, Morant sent a clear message about his unhappiness while speaking with media members following Memphis’ 114-106 loss to the Detroit Pistons.
When asked if he had his usual joy while playing right now, Morant gave a brief, but booming, answer: “No.”
When asked what could be done to get the joy back, Morant simply said, “We’ll see.”
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Yikes. It’s barely two weeks into the NBA season, and the Grizzlies are already in full house-on-fire mode. They’ve lost five of their first eight games, and the guy who is supposed to be the face of the franchise appears to be at odds with the organization.
The truth is that Morant and the Grizzlies have been trending downward for a while now. Perhaps this season is just the boiling point. Maybe they’ll be able to turn things around, but the situation certainly feels like it’s trending towards divorce.
Morant’s comments about playing without joy mirror comments made by Jimmy Butler last season shortly before he was traded from the Miami Heat to the Golden State Warriors. This situation could quickly be headed down a similar path.
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The problem for the Grizzlies is that Morant’s trade value has probably never been lower, so it would be a tough time to try to move him. At this time, there isn’t believed to be a robust market for the embattled point guard.
A deal obviously isn’t imminent, but this situation is certainly one to monitor, closely. If things don’t start to get better in Memphis in short order, some major changes could be on the horizon.