BERLIN — Ja Morant said his reaction to reports that the Memphis Grizzlies were listening to trade offers for him was to “live with it.”
Morant, addressing the media for the first time since multiple reports surfaced last week that Memphis was open to moving him, offered mostly short, occasionally punchy responses during a six-minute news conference ahead of the Grizzlies’ practice in Berlin on Wednesday.
Asked if he would play for Memphis against Orlando on Thursday in Berlin and on Sunday in London, Morant said, “Hopefully.” But later in the day, the Grizzlies officially ruled him out for Thursday’s game with a right calf bruise that has kept him out of the last five games. Coach Tuomas Iisalo had said Tuesday that there was a “chance” Morant would play.
Otherwise, Wednesday was Morant offering the bare minimum about his mindset and status with the franchise that drafted him second overall in 2019 and stuck with him through multiple injuries and suspensions for off-court behavior.
Asked if he expected to be with the Grizzlies beyond the NBA trade deadline on Feb. 5, Morant quipped: “I’m the only one you asked that question to?”
Asked about his cryptic social media posts in the wake of the reports about his future in Memphis, and the online criticisms of his posts (he’s been called “Emo Ja,” and he made the reference himself as part of his answer), Morant said: “Yeah, I see it. It’s cool. Funny.”
Asked about his conditioning and the ramp-up for his potential return to play, Morant said: “I feel like I’m good.”
On Iisalo, whom Morant clashed with earlier this season over substitution patterns, which led to a one-game suspension, Morant said: “He cool. I don’t think we’ve had too many ups and downs. That’s just y’all on the outside looking in thinking that.”
Of the reaction his fans in Memphis may have had to the idea that Morant could be traded soon, he said: “I think y’all should be more worried about my reaction and not other people. Like, my reaction is more important.”
And when a reporter agreed with him on this point that, yes, the NBA universe would like to know his reaction to potentially being traded, and asked him to compare the situation to the other challenges he’s faced during his career, Morant called it “different.”
That was it. Please remember your coats on the way out.
An All-Star in 2023, Morant is still considered a “star” by the NBA, which is relevant this week. Both Thursday’s game in Berlin and the game Sunday between the Grizzlies and Magic in London will be broadcast on Prime Video, which makes them “national TV” games by league standards. Star players are not permitted to miss those games unless they are legitimately injured.
Morant’s calf bruise occurred before the news broke that Memphis would consider trading him. However, for the last two games since those reports surfaced, Morant was listed as “out” instead of “questionable,” which was his original diagnosis.
Morant’s status has been repositioned toward playing. He and the team also probably have plausible deniability if he doesn’t, because of his extended absence from injury. Any league investigation would likely show Morant was at one time injured, and the league can’t mandate any player’s return-to-play schedule.
However, Morant is also obviously upset by the trade rumor. League sources said he suggested to at least two teammates, and other NBA players, that he wouldn’t play for Memphis anymore, though that could turn out to be false Thursday night.
Additionally, Morant, a Nike brand ambassador, has an opportunity to play in front of a basketball-crazed (albeit mostly Adidas-loyal) fan base in Germany.
Morant has missed opportunities to play for USA Basketball in past Olympics and the FIBA World Cup — USAB is a Nike-sponsored organization, and in meetings with U.S. and international basketball chiefs, Nike had expressed a desire for Morant to be considered — so this would be another chance for Morant to please his fans on a different continent, and potentially sell more sneakers.
Morant, 26, is averaging 19 points and shooting a career-worst 40 percent from the field in just 18 games this season. He is also not the only Memphis star whose name is coming up in trade rumors.
In an entirely different set of circumstances, Grizzlies big man Jaren Jackson Jr. was mentioned as a trade candidate for the Los Angeles Lakers by LeBron James’ agent, Rich Paul.
Paul floated the idea of the Lakers acquiring Jackson (to pair with Luka Dončić) via trade for Austin Reaves on his podcast.
Jackson said he saw Paul’s proposed trade and laughed it off.
“There’s just a lot of podcasts,” Jackson said. “At first, I didn’t think it was real. You have to figure out if it’s real, usually now, and I’m not as versed technology-wise as these people younger than me. I was figuring out if it’s AI, deepfake, all that stuff. That’s all I had, I didn’t really have much of a reaction.”
