Ja Morant took to X to make it clear that he doesn’t want to go anywhere. The Grizzlies’ star point guard indirectly responded to a clip of former NBA veterans Lou Williams and Chandler Parsons suggesting that he should be traded from Memphis this summer. And he didn’t hold back.
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Ja has now been fined $75k by the NBA for an obscene gun gesture celebration that he has continued to do throughout the season. He was warned the first time he did it on April 2nd against the Warriors. Then, yesterday, he brandished the celebration again while playing the Heat and was fined for the offense.
All of these troubles have led former Grizzlies veteran Parsons to suggest that Memphis needs to get Ja off the team.
“With him, it does seem like something is going on under the surface,” Parsons said. “He’s just, he’s not happy. And he’s lashing out. If I’m the Grizzlies, I do consider a serious look this summer to get off this dude because that’s not my franchise player. That’s someone with just blatant disregard for the situation at hand right now. That’s not who I want to invest all of this money in.”
Parsons didn’t hold back in his critique of Ja. Furthermore, he said that the Grizz should shop him to a team like the Rockets, who are loaded with first-round picks and current NBA talent. Parsons also inferred that the Memphis core is now Jaren Jackson, GG Jackson, and Desmond Bane, not Morant.
Ja responded to the clip with a simple but profanity-laced quote tweet.
Ja Morant just retweeted this tweet this morning.
When will they learn. pic.twitter.com/rvJ1Fhkd2l
— Playoff MEM (@PlayoffMem) April 5, 2025
Ja has been with the Grizzlies for six seasons now, and the city has learned to embrace him. This isn’t the first time he’s been caught up in silly antics. In 2023, he was suspended for 30 games to start the season for brandishing a gun on an Instagram Live video. At this point, he’s grown indifferent to the NBA coming after him.
Morant most likely won’t leave Memphis unless he’s forced out. He loves the city and the fans. It’s only the people on the outside looking in who can’t see the full picture.
Parsons doesn’t seem to know what he’s talking about here. He goes on to say the “vibes are good” in Memphis when they, in fact, aren’t. He even mentions that they just fired their head coach but somehow paints it as a positive. The Grizzlies are already in disarray, and a Ja Morant trade would only send them spiraling further.
