“”I said, ‘listen to me, because I’ve been around a long time,'” he recalled saying. “‘I’ve seen the cycle.’ So when he started putting all that s— in his mouth, all those goddamn chains around his neck, he wanted to be a rapper, and I told his dad, ‘Your son wants to be more of a rapper than a basketball player. It’s going to go bad.'”
The warning, he said, went unheeded.”
oof
dmac3232
I’m only around halfway through, but not an easy read. I’m honestly surprised this doesn’t happen more often. I couldn’t comprehend going from even a middle class upbringing to that kind of wealth and privilege, with virtually anything you want at your finger tips and legions of people willing to kiss your ass and tell you the sky is actually pink. Makes you appreciate all the guys who are able to successfully navigate all the pitfalls that come with being a pro athlete.
sewsgup
great piece, some parts i copied
tl;dr,
– Ja didnt drink smoke before the NBA; – team sources believe his dad Tee is a major influence, given Tee never got a chance to experience a NBA lifestyle (and Tee saw his high school teammate Ray Allen live out one); Tee was taking Ja to strip clubs when he was underage; – Grizzlies front office told Ja “You’re fucked up”; Grizzlies replaced team warmup music with RnB while Ja was away
>- Before being drafted by the Grizzlies with the No. 2 overall pick in 2019, scouting reports on the high-flying point guard out of mid-major Murray State revealed little in the way of red flags.
>- “Zero,” said one veteran NBA scout who scouted Morant for a lottery team in position to draft him. “He was the consummate coachable teammate, a choir boy. Underrecruited. Didn’t have many scholarship offers. Played with a chip on his shoulder. Glowing stuff. Nothing. There was absolutely nothing.”
>- Team sources said there were concerns about how frequently Morant, underage and often accompanied by his father Tee Morant, would go out drinking, and at some of Memphis’ seedier establishments and strip clubs, including on nights before games.
>- “Tee has been a major driving force in all of this,” one team source said. “He never made the NBA, but this was his chance to live like he’s an NBA superstar. That’s been a problem from the beginning.”
>- Around that same time, some in Memphis noticed a change in Morant. “He went from being a nice guy to every time you look up, the kid was always into it with somebody,” said one of the Memphis business owners whose establishments Morant had visited frequently. “A staff member, security, always wanting it his way. It’s just so much. I can’t say all of it. It just went bad, bro — like the way he carried himself. First, he told me he was coming with his best friend. The next thing, he started coming with an entourage. The next thing, he’s got a platinum grill in his mouth. The next thing, he’s into it with parking lot security because they won’t let him park somewhere.”
>- ZACH KLEIMAN AND Taylor Jenkins stewed as they walked into a hotel room in early February 2023. Before them was Ja Morant, their superstar, the hope and future of the Memphis Grizzlies — and a man on the precipice, his very career swirling in question.
>- Inside the hotel room, the two men tried to convey to Morant how his conduct had become a major concern, how it had impacted the team he was supposed to lead. Facing the then-23-year-old, their message, said one team insider, was simple:
>- You’re f—— up.
>- While Morant was away, the team made changes. The rap soundtrack played during the team’s layup lines was replaced by R&B songs, prompting Jaren Jackson Jr. to playfully complain in the locker room postgame about being forced to “warm up to love songs.” The pregame hype video played before starting lineup introductions was edited to remove lyrics of the Trippie Redd song “Psycho,” playing only the bass-thumping beat.
paddiction
Crazy to think that his dad would be a calming influence but his dad is making it worse
grudgepacker
How the article ends:
> Before Morant’s conduct became national news, one of the Memphis business owners whose establishments Ja and Tee had visited, said he sat down with Tee and warned him of the pitfalls that some Grizzlies players had fallen into in Memphis.
> “I said, ‘listen to me, because I’ve been around a long time,'” he recalled saying. “‘I’ve seen the cycle.’ So when he started putting all that s— in his mouth, all those goddamn chains around his neck, he wanted to be a rapper, and I told his dad, ‘Your son wants to be more of a rapper than a basketball player. It’s going to go bad.'”
> The warning, he said, went unheeded.
Sounds about right.
LegalEaglewithBeagle
Brutal read. I really hope Ja gets it turned around, because he was and is so fun to watch. However, in reading that article, I don’t think he sees that there is any problem in his behavior or that of his clique of hangers-on.
IJustReadEverything
Ja is gonna have to put his own father in the corner or Tee, himself, stays out of Ja’s career.
lopea182
> Throughout that 2021-22 season, during which Morant was named the NBA’s Most Improved Player, a pattern emerged whenever the Grizzlies traveled.
> After landing, a Sprinter Van would often be waiting at the team hotel to shuttle Morant out for the evening with friends and family, whom he had flown into that city on a private jet, according to team sources. Morant would cover their lodging and foot the bill at establishments they visited.
I’m scared for this dude’s post-career life:
I don’t know if it’s possible for a player like him to go broke with the hundreds of millions he’s already contractually owed, but if he’s dropping that much on every night of every road trip, I can imagine that adds up over the course of a career.
redeemer4
Good read
noplaceinmind
I see his friend that was streaming when Ja flashed a gun the second time was arrested shortly after for another incident.
Any work Morant does might be for naught if he keeps the same company.
Everyone has to make changes, or they gotta go.
obsterwankenobster
One thing I gleaned from this article is that Ja and his crew fucking love having affirmative t-shirts made every time they fuck up lmao
MiguelitoCS
>”At this point, it doesn’t matter until he follows through,” Kleiman said then. “I couldn’t care less about words. Ja has to prove it.”
This sums up exactly what the next few seasons look like for Ja Morant. No one cares what he says at this point, it’s all about the changes he makes and how he carries himself. Has the talent to be among the best in the league, the question is does he want that?
begley420
Thankfully the Hornets stepped up and made everyone forget about Ja
DeeezzzNutzzz69
Going to a strip club with your dad is so weird.
The only worst person I can think of going to a strip club with, is your mom herself.
Schloopybloopers
I can’t imagine how badly my life would’ve turned out if my main parent was actively taking me to strip clubs and shit. Dude needs to no contact his whole extended family, which is more baggage on him. Tough
DownWithFlairs
The thing that always stuck out to me about Ja’s “downfall” or whatever you want to call it — is the fact that it seemed like the kind of mistakes that happen way less often in 2023
Like NBA players from this generation all grew up knowing full well what happened to guys like Iverson. How fast it can all go away. And then watching guys like LeBron act like businesses. The path has been cleared for them by guys who made bad choices
Which is why if this story is true, that it’s really Ja’s dad fueling a lot of the flames, it kinda makes sense why these mistakes feel like they’re coming from an older generation… because they partially are
arika_ito
It’s definitely a case where too much money went to everyone’s head, including Ja’s parents. This doesn’t absolve him of blame but it certainly demonstrates the apple does not fall far from the tree.
Also it’s very interesting to see how the Memphis business people know the Morants well enough to be quoted regularly in this story but I guess for a narrative about how Morant fell from being a potential face of the NBA to this, it makes sense.
Sweatytubesock
So glad Tee is living the NBA life he was ‘robbed’ of.
VariableBooleans
I like this article because it presents a lot of context and inside information about the why and the how instead of the what.
Memphis has never had a sports legend like Ja is. Dude is basically a god here and none of this stuff has changed that at all locally. I can see how easily the streets here could change him.
That said, it’s good news that we haven’t really seen or heard jack shit out of him or any of his camp other than some corny t-shirts.
The team decided to let him travel with them and the league allowed it, so that tells me that they, along with the league, are satisfied with how he’s been acting. I hope he keeps it up.
Memphis has way too much negative from so many different fronts going against it. The city doesn’t need to lose its brightest star.
TheCrimsonArmada
Who are the other grizzlies that have fallen into “pitfalls” in Memphis? Can’t even think of anyone else
imnotknox
A grown man they are gonna give a quarter of a billion to can’t listen to rap music in warmups, is arguably the most childish thing I’ve ever heard, like wtf lmao
Adventurous-Bee-5934
If this is true, seems like his dad is straight up living vicariously through Ja.
Pathetic ass dad
Inside-Big-8158
Shitty parents and family members always make moving up in the world so much harder then it needs to be
idk_idc_fts_io
Idk it’s smell like team source try to shift blame off their star to his dad.
But even then it’s hard to believe his dad is blameless. He stay with Ja a lot and Ja still do all this stuff.
ummreally
How much of this could the grizzlies have prevented if they took a harder line with him and his dad early?
dmackerman
So, his dad is braindead. Got it!
Imperial_Eggroll
So like most knew all along it was Tee. His own dad that was sitting courtside iced out tryna make it big. I mean we knew his family and parents included enabled the shit out of him. There’s a video of them all on a private jet watching Ja chug a bottle of tequila.
hairylobster531
Generational bag fumbler
Ct2kKB24
Morant is going down the iverson route. He’s so talented now he will still get paid and have teams wanting him but the second he slows down, gets hurt, or stops producing his career is over instantly.
If he doesn’t change his ways he could be out of the league before 32
OriginalBus9674
His dad stuff makes sense when you watch videos of him courtside. Dude is living through Ja.
OkImpression408
The only take away I have is that both Ja and the entire front office and suit wearing hierarchy are both Fucking stupid lmao
Chedward_40_Hanz
Stupid is as stupid does and this MFer is a pillock.
RGPISGOOD
wow, this article has a lot of Grizzlies insiders giving a really negative view on Morant. His future does not look bright after reading this entire thing, even the people in their front office doesn’t believe he will change.
It’s sad because he’s surrounded by enablers.
Itsyaboibiggyt
Great read. Didn’t know about all the red flags that led up to the first “gun incident”. Being an armchair dr sounds like ja has a serious alcohol problem and an enabling circle. What adds layers to this is that his dad is one of those enablers
Smellmyhand
Ja is a 24 year old multimillionaire. He’s more than capable of owning up to his mistakes.
But holy hell, Tee is worse than anything we were warned about Lavar
Ramzaa_
Ja is a piece of shit but so is his dad. Whole family full of idiots either trying to live vicariously through Ja or Ja himself trying to throw it all away
UltraMoglog64
But but but r/NBA told me Tee Morant was a great influence for Ja!
Ghetteuax
These are grown men that cant even listen to the lyrics lmaoo
RVAIsTheGreatest
I don’t like the whole distancing yourselves as an organization from hip hop, something that is absolutely core to Memphis’ identity as a city, because you don’t wanna represent yourself as a “thug” team, you don’t want Ja to be represented as a “thug”. That’s why it was done. Like…come on, man. I read about that before and it brought a really sour taste in my mouth. Hip hop is not responsible for Ja behaving this way. That’s so lazy.
Tee Morant is like so many fathers who grew up in negative environments…so many people. It’s a really sad situation and obviously Ja’s closest influences have left a very poor imprint upon him during some of the most important years in his life, in his development. But he is, at the end of the day, also an adult. And he knows right from wrong.
ScarletShikari
As an alligator, please don’t lump me in with this clown.
ughwhateverman
This is a really illuminating article but i could’ve done without some of the micro aggressions. There’s nothing wrong with wearing grillz or listening to rap lol
Warming up to loves songs isn’t gonna make Ja less of a dummy
DunkingZBO
I know I’m biased as a Grizzlies fan, but I don’t really understand the point of this article. This is all stuff we already know. All the incidents, his dads influence, Pack, etc. I guess the new info could just be the “team sources” but that could be anyone.
42 Comments
“”I said, ‘listen to me, because I’ve been around a long time,'” he recalled saying. “‘I’ve seen the cycle.’ So when he started putting all that s— in his mouth, all those goddamn chains around his neck, he wanted to be a rapper, and I told his dad, ‘Your son wants to be more of a rapper than a basketball player. It’s going to go bad.'”
The warning, he said, went unheeded.”
oof
I’m only around halfway through, but not an easy read. I’m honestly surprised this doesn’t happen more often. I couldn’t comprehend going from even a middle class upbringing to that kind of wealth and privilege, with virtually anything you want at your finger tips and legions of people willing to kiss your ass and tell you the sky is actually pink. Makes you appreciate all the guys who are able to successfully navigate all the pitfalls that come with being a pro athlete.
great piece, some parts i copied
tl;dr,
– Ja didnt drink smoke before the NBA;
– team sources believe his dad Tee is a major influence, given Tee never got a chance to experience a NBA lifestyle (and Tee saw his high school teammate Ray Allen live out one); Tee was taking Ja to strip clubs when he was underage;
– Grizzlies front office told Ja “You’re fucked up”; Grizzlies replaced team warmup music with RnB while Ja was away
>- Before being drafted by the Grizzlies with the No. 2 overall pick in 2019, scouting reports on the high-flying point guard out of mid-major Murray State revealed little in the way of red flags.
>- “Zero,” said one veteran NBA scout who scouted Morant for a lottery team in position to draft him. “He was the consummate coachable teammate, a choir boy. Underrecruited. Didn’t have many scholarship offers. Played with a chip on his shoulder. Glowing stuff. Nothing. There was absolutely nothing.”
>- Team sources said there were concerns about how frequently Morant, underage and often accompanied by his father Tee Morant, would go out drinking, and at some of Memphis’ seedier establishments and strip clubs, including on nights before games.
>- “Tee has been a major driving force in all of this,” one team source said. “He never made the NBA, but this was his chance to live like he’s an NBA superstar. That’s been a problem from the beginning.”
>- Around that same time, some in Memphis noticed a change in Morant. “He went from being a nice guy to every time you look up, the kid was always into it with somebody,” said one of the Memphis business owners whose establishments Morant had visited frequently. “A staff member, security, always wanting it his way. It’s just so much. I can’t say all of it. It just went bad, bro — like the way he carried himself. First, he told me he was coming with his best friend. The next thing, he started coming with an entourage. The next thing, he’s got a platinum grill in his mouth. The next thing, he’s into it with parking lot security because they won’t let him park somewhere.”
>- ZACH KLEIMAN AND Taylor Jenkins stewed as they walked into a hotel room in early February 2023. Before them was Ja Morant, their superstar, the hope and future of the Memphis Grizzlies — and a man on the precipice, his very career swirling in question.
>- Inside the hotel room, the two men tried to convey to Morant how his conduct had become a major concern, how it had impacted the team he was supposed to lead. Facing the then-23-year-old, their message, said one team insider, was simple:
>- You’re f—— up.
>- While Morant was away, the team made changes. The rap soundtrack played during the team’s layup lines was replaced by R&B songs, prompting Jaren Jackson Jr. to playfully complain in the locker room postgame about being forced to “warm up to love songs.” The pregame hype video played before starting lineup introductions was edited to remove lyrics of the Trippie Redd song “Psycho,” playing only the bass-thumping beat.
Crazy to think that his dad would be a calming influence but his dad is making it worse
How the article ends:
> Before Morant’s conduct became national news, one of the Memphis business owners whose establishments Ja and Tee had visited, said he sat down with Tee and warned him of the pitfalls that some Grizzlies players had fallen into in Memphis.
> “I said, ‘listen to me, because I’ve been around a long time,'” he recalled saying. “‘I’ve seen the cycle.’ So when he started putting all that s— in his mouth, all those goddamn chains around his neck, he wanted to be a rapper, and I told his dad, ‘Your son wants to be more of a rapper than a basketball player. It’s going to go bad.'”
> The warning, he said, went unheeded.
Sounds about right.
Brutal read. I really hope Ja gets it turned around, because he was and is so fun to watch. However, in reading that article, I don’t think he sees that there is any problem in his behavior or that of his clique of hangers-on.
Ja is gonna have to put his own father in the corner or Tee, himself, stays out of Ja’s career.
> Throughout that 2021-22 season, during which Morant was named the NBA’s Most Improved Player, a pattern emerged whenever the Grizzlies traveled.
> After landing, a Sprinter Van would often be waiting at the team hotel to shuttle Morant out for the evening with friends and family, whom he had flown into that city on a private jet, according to team sources. Morant would cover their lodging and foot the bill at establishments they visited.
I’m scared for this dude’s post-career life:
I don’t know if it’s possible for a player like him to go broke with the hundreds of millions he’s already contractually owed, but if he’s dropping that much on every night of every road trip, I can imagine that adds up over the course of a career.
Good read
I see his friend that was streaming when Ja flashed a gun the second time was arrested shortly after for another incident.
Any work Morant does might be for naught if he keeps the same company.
Everyone has to make changes, or they gotta go.
One thing I gleaned from this article is that Ja and his crew fucking love having affirmative t-shirts made every time they fuck up lmao
>”At this point, it doesn’t matter until he follows through,” Kleiman said then. “I couldn’t care less about words. Ja has to prove it.”
This sums up exactly what the next few seasons look like for Ja Morant. No one cares what he says at this point, it’s all about the changes he makes and how he carries himself. Has the talent to be among the best in the league, the question is does he want that?
Thankfully the Hornets stepped up and made everyone forget about Ja
Going to a strip club with your dad is so weird.
The only worst person I can think of going to a strip club with, is your mom herself.
I can’t imagine how badly my life would’ve turned out if my main parent was actively taking me to strip clubs and shit. Dude needs to no contact his whole extended family, which is more baggage on him. Tough
The thing that always stuck out to me about Ja’s “downfall” or whatever you want to call it — is the fact that it seemed like the kind of mistakes that happen way less often in 2023
Like NBA players from this generation all grew up knowing full well what happened to guys like Iverson. How fast it can all go away. And then watching guys like LeBron act like businesses. The path has been cleared for them by guys who made bad choices
Which is why if this story is true, that it’s really Ja’s dad fueling a lot of the flames, it kinda makes sense why these mistakes feel like they’re coming from an older generation… because they partially are
It’s definitely a case where too much money went to everyone’s head, including Ja’s parents. This doesn’t absolve him of blame but it certainly demonstrates the apple does not fall far from the tree.
Also it’s very interesting to see how the Memphis business people know the Morants well enough to be quoted regularly in this story but I guess for a narrative about how Morant fell from being a potential face of the NBA to this, it makes sense.
So glad Tee is living the NBA life he was ‘robbed’ of.
I like this article because it presents a lot of context and inside information about the why and the how instead of the what.
Memphis has never had a sports legend like Ja is. Dude is basically a god here and none of this stuff has changed that at all locally. I can see how easily the streets here could change him.
That said, it’s good news that we haven’t really seen or heard jack shit out of him or any of his camp other than some corny t-shirts.
The team decided to let him travel with them and the league allowed it, so that tells me that they, along with the league, are satisfied with how he’s been acting. I hope he keeps it up.
Memphis has way too much negative from so many different fronts going against it. The city doesn’t need to lose its brightest star.
Who are the other grizzlies that have fallen into “pitfalls” in Memphis? Can’t even think of anyone else
A grown man they are gonna give a quarter of a billion to can’t listen to rap music in warmups, is arguably the most childish thing I’ve ever heard, like wtf lmao
If this is true, seems like his dad is straight up living vicariously through Ja.
Pathetic ass dad
Shitty parents and family members always make moving up in the world so much harder then it needs to be
Idk it’s smell like team source try to shift blame off their star to his dad.
But even then it’s hard to believe his dad is blameless. He stay with Ja a lot and Ja still do all this stuff.
How much of this could the grizzlies have prevented if they took a harder line with him and his dad early?
So, his dad is braindead. Got it!
So like most knew all along it was Tee. His own dad that was sitting courtside iced out tryna make it big. I mean we knew his family and parents included enabled the shit out of him. There’s a video of them all on a private jet watching Ja chug a bottle of tequila.
Generational bag fumbler
Morant is going down the iverson route. He’s so talented now he will still get paid and have teams wanting him but the second he slows down, gets hurt, or stops producing his career is over instantly.
If he doesn’t change his ways he could be out of the league before 32
His dad stuff makes sense when you watch videos of him courtside. Dude is living through Ja.
The only take away I have is that both Ja and the entire front office and suit wearing hierarchy are both Fucking stupid lmao
Stupid is as stupid does and this MFer is a pillock.
wow, this article has a lot of Grizzlies insiders giving a really negative view on Morant. His future does not look bright after reading this entire thing, even the people in their front office doesn’t believe he will change.
It’s sad because he’s surrounded by enablers.
Great read. Didn’t know about all the red flags that led up to the first “gun incident”. Being an armchair dr sounds like ja has a serious alcohol problem and an enabling circle. What adds layers to this is that his dad is one of those enablers
Ja is a 24 year old multimillionaire. He’s more than capable of owning up to his mistakes.
But holy hell, Tee is worse than anything we were warned about Lavar
Ja is a piece of shit but so is his dad. Whole family full of idiots either trying to live vicariously through Ja or Ja himself trying to throw it all away
But but but r/NBA told me Tee Morant was a great influence for Ja!
These are grown men that cant even listen to the lyrics lmaoo
I don’t like the whole distancing yourselves as an organization from hip hop, something that is absolutely core to Memphis’ identity as a city, because you don’t wanna represent yourself as a “thug” team, you don’t want Ja to be represented as a “thug”. That’s why it was done. Like…come on, man. I read about that before and it brought a really sour taste in my mouth. Hip hop is not responsible for Ja behaving this way. That’s so lazy.
Tee Morant is like so many fathers who grew up in negative environments…so many people. It’s a really sad situation and obviously Ja’s closest influences have left a very poor imprint upon him during some of the most important years in his life, in his development. But he is, at the end of the day, also an adult. And he knows right from wrong.
As an alligator, please don’t lump me in with this clown.
This is a really illuminating article but i could’ve done without some of the micro aggressions. There’s nothing wrong with wearing grillz or listening to rap lol
Warming up to loves songs isn’t gonna make Ja less of a dummy
I know I’m biased as a Grizzlies fan, but I don’t really understand the point of this article. This is all stuff we already know. All the incidents, his dads influence, Pack, etc. I guess the new info could just be the “team sources” but that could be anyone.