More details are emerging on Ja Morant’s seemingly fractured relationship with the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Grizzlies are, for the first time, considering trading away their two-time All-Star point guard Morant, it was revealed on Friday. Since then, some interesting potential suitors have already emerged for Morant.
Later in the day on Friday, Michael C. Wright of ESPN shared some interesting details about the Morant saga. Wright says that Morant felt alienated by his Grizzlies teammates after he was suspended by the team earlier this season over a confrontation with head coach Tuomas Iisalo.
While Wright notes that Grizzlies players were told to leave Morant alone so that he could get through the issues that led to the suspension, Morant reportedly proceeded to tell players around the league as well as former coaches that he would not be playing for Memphis anymore. You can read Wright’s full report on the situation here.
Morant, 26, was the Grizzlies’ No. 2 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft and has been with them ever since. But Morant has notably been suspended multiple times by the NBA for flashing weapons on his social media, and his relationship with Iisalo has gotten particularly problematic this season. One recent report even claimed that Morant “hates” playing for Iisalo, who took over as Memphis’ head coach in the middle of last season after Taylor Jenkins was fired.
This year’s NBA trade deadline will be on Feb. 5. Morant is still signed through 2028, but it looks like his situation with the 16-22 Grizzlies is getting increasingly more untenable as the days go by.
