JA MAKES OUR JAWS DROP WITH THOROUGH DISGUST — AND SHOULD BE BANNED BY SILVER
Morant is firing imaginary guns during games — despite 33 games of suspensions that damaged his promising career — and the NBA must decide if he’s mentally equipped to play for Memphis or another team
The NBA commissioner stopped monitoring Ja Morant many months ago, in 2023, just before Christmas. Adam Silver assumed his mind was on basketball and that he wouldn’t brandish a firearm again on social media, whether he was at a nightclub or in a vehicle. He said “conditions are in place for Ja to be successful moving forward.”
All assurances ended Tuesday night, when Morant ventured into another sinister zone that demands the deepest professional help. He looked at the Golden State bench, stuck out both arms and allowed the left one to remain straight while the right one was cocked by his head. Clearly, he was shooting an imaginary gun and kept firing as he walked past Steph Curry, who looked back at him, and Draymond Green, who pointed to officials.
It’s beyond troubling that Morant is oblivious to two previous suspensions — totaling 33 games — when he used real guns. If his career was paused by Silver, he should be put away for the rest of the season and banned from the league until further notice. Morant made five 3-pointers in a 134-125 loss in Memphis, and each time, he gestured with gun-heater poses while looking at an opponent or his father, Tee Morant. How did he respond Wednesday? Not with an apology.
“ja this .. ja that,” he wrote on X with an emoji that showed crying and laughter.
Ja made our jaws drop. Does he not understand how fans want to enjoy games and not become embroiled in disturbing scenes, particularly when children are watching? No one cares if Buddy Hield launched back-and-forth taunting between them. Regardless of the circumstance, there is no chance of Morant becoming a superstar, when his career once was so promising that killer moves never required sniping explosions.
“Dumbass,” he said to Hield after his gun gesture.
“Fool,” we say to Morant, who cannot move through life without artillery fire.
As it is, Silver is too pleasant when he counsels troubled players. Take Green, who should have been outlawed after his numerous takedowns, punches and cheap shots at the enemy. Here comes Morant, who is daring the commissioner to accept his mocking disdain for authority. He succeeded last week in firing Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins, who upset Morant by changing the offense. Why not spray bullets, too?
Never mind that his team has lost seven of eight games and faces quick play-in elimination under the interim coach, Tuomos Iisalo. And never mind if management wonders if Morant deserves a two-year, $125 million extension this summer. By now, he was supposed to lead the Grizzlies to the Finals. The franchise is heading backwards, contrary to the Warriors, who are 19-4 with Jimmy Butler and might be contenders.
“I feel in a good rhythm. The tank is pretty full,” said Curry, who returned from an injury with an astonishing 52 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists.
“Fifty-two points with people draped all over him, all game long,” coach Steve Kerr said. “I’ve been watching this for 11 years, and actually longer before I became his coach. You get a real sense of just the magnitude of his talent. The guy is amazing to watch.”
Curry’s only complaint was Morant, who tried to louse up his grand moment. This is where Silver must protect the league and humankind. Curry wanted to discuss moving to 25th among all-time scorers and passing Jerry West. “I got a little emotional about that. It was special, in his memory,” he said. “What he meant to our organization, the league, to the world of basketball. That's the logo.”
There are logos, and there are misfits. Once, Silver said: “Ja Morant's decision to once again wield a firearm on social media is alarming and disconcerting given his similar conduct in March for which he was already suspended eight games. The potential for other young people to emulate Ja’s conduct is particularly concerning. Under these circumstances, we believe a suspension of 25 games is appropriate and makes clear that engaging in reckless and irresponsible behavior with guns won’t be tolerated.”
We’ve reached the point where no one knows what Morant will do next. No one wants to see his actions or read his jibber-jabber, so Silver should evict him today. Otherwise, he is allowing the league to be hijacked by twisted defiance.
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Jay Mariotti, called “without question the most impacting Chicago sportswriter of the past quarter-century,’’ writes general sports columns for Substack while appearing on some of the 1,678,498 podcasts and shows in production today. He is an accomplished columnist, TV panelist and talk/podcast host. Living in Los Angeles, he gravitated by osmosis to film projects.