Prior to the duo making their ESPN First Take debut, Stephen A. Smith and Shannon Sharpe appeared on the latter’s latest episode of the Club Shay Shay podcast. During the nearly two-hour-long episode, the duo spoke about a wide range of topics. At one point, Sharpe and Smith briefly discussed the $60,000,000 loss that Ja Morant will be sustaining due to the Instagram Live fiasco. From one father to another, Stephen A. gave Tee Morant some advice following his son receiving a 25-game suspension from the NBA.
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Earlier in the year, Ja Morant was under scrutiny for an antic he pulled off in Denver. The Memphis Grizzlies star was seen flashing a firearm during his visit to a nightclub. The league instantly suspended him for the final eight games of the season. Later, in an Instagram Live video, Morant was waving around a gun. This time, Adam Silver decided to slap the youngster with a much costlier penalty – a 25-game suspension. Missing out on almost one-third of the season, the 2020 Rookie of the Year will also see $7.6 million deducted from his salary.
Stephen A. Smith gives advice to Tee Morant
On the latest episode of Shannon Sharpe’s podcast, Stephen A. Smith dished out advice to Ja and Tee Morant. Giving an example from his own life, Stephen A. requested Ja to surround himself with better people.
“In terms of my advice to Ja, it’s this man – some people you gotta leave behind and I don’t mean cut them off. I don’t mean cut them off like you can’t be with them.”
After exclaiming how Ja was never going to recover the $60 million that he has lost to fines (including the additional $7.6 million), SAS spoke about how Tee Morant could help his son. From one father to another, the famous figure in the sports industry begged Ja’s father to be more responsible.
“What happened with Ja Morant cost him about $60 million. $60 million! You ain’t getting that back.
I’m a father, you’re (Tee) a father, here’s the deal – I know you can’t tell your son what to do. He’s a grownup. But certain things he don’t need to be doing right in front of you. You the grownup. You the dad. You are not supposed to be trying to live the life he (Ja) living. Y’all made it and you going make it even more,” Smith exclaimed.
Apart from losing almost $10 million in salaries, Ja will also have to say goodbye to the $40 million he would have gotten for making it to the All-NBA Team. After all, after his suspension, he will only be able to play a maximum of 57 games, a much lower figure than the primary requirement of 65 games to be considered. Further, as revealed by Brian Windhorst, the athletic guard would also lose as much as $10 million from his sponsors.
Dominique Wilkins also requested Ja Morant to keep a check on his company
Several analysts and figures from the basketball world have dished out their opinions on the entire Ja Morant fiasco. While holding the youngster accountable, the majority of the people have been requesting the 24-year-old the same thing – choose his company wisely.
During an appearance on VladTV, Dominique Wilkins spoke about the ill effects of being surrounded by the wrong crowd. Joining several others, Nique’s plea to Ja was simple – surround himself with people who were genuinely supportive.
