Ever since Ja Morant declared that he was ‘fine in the West,’ the Memphis Grizzlies have been anything but that. Once one of the promising young teams in the league, the Grizzlies have suffered a quick fall from grace. Injuries and off-court issues certainly play a role in this outcome and the organization may be looking for a way to turn this ship by parting ways with their face of the franchise, Ja Morant.
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In the 2022-23 season, the Grizzlies were the second seed in a loaded Western Conference. Despite losing the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round, it was consensus belief that they were on the precipice of becoming a perennial contender in the West. But, it would all come crashing down the very next season.
Morant would through his controversial gun scandal, sidelining him for some time, only for him to return and suffer a season-ending injury. In his absence, a string of on court disappointments would led to the firing of head coach Taylor Jenkins.
Cut to today and Morant’s struggle with head coach Tuomas Iisalo’s offense has become common knowledge. Despite this, former NBA star Gilbert Arenas argues trading Morant would be a terrible idea.
Morant has been unable to fit in with what the Grizzlies are trying to do. He is having arguably the worst season of his career with averages of 19.0 points, 7.6 assists and 3.6 turnovers per game. Although those numbers aren’t horrible, his efficiency is where it becomes concerning. Morant is shooting 40% from the field and abysmal 20.8% from three-point range.
Consequently, despite Memphis’ attempts to find new life, they remain a Play-In team sitting at 10th with a 16-22 record. Shams Charania recently reported that this had led the Grizzlies to openly shop Morant for the first time, insinuating that his tenure with the team may be coming to an end.
Arenas isn’t the biggest fan of this particular plan. He even went as far as to criticize the Grizzlies for even thinking about trading Morant.
“It’s not a play for, ‘We’re about to make the playoffs next year and we’re about to be a contending team for the chip,'” Arenas said on The Gilbert Arenas Show. “Man, Memphis Grizzlies ain’t ever going to be no contending team for no championship.”
Arenas didn’t hold back any punches on his former team. Of course, with their current roster, the Grizzlies don’t have too high a ceiling. Their squad has plenty of holes, especially when it comes to shot creation. Surely, the Grizzlies themselves understand where they stand.
However, Arenas doesn’t just believe a championship is too far out of reach this season, but also for the seasons to come.
“There’s certain teams out there that’s just happy enough to make the playoffs. That’s their championship,” Arenas declared.
Unfortunately for Arenas, Memphis’ front desk appears unconvinced. Morant have might led the Grizzlies to the semifinals once but it seems he won’t be leading them anywhere anymore.
