I don't want anymore money in the owners' pockets overall (if anything, less), but y'know, it kind of has me thinking that the teams should push for lower, slower rookie contracts in exchange for bigger max contracts/salary caps down the road. Tens of millions a year is just too much money in your early 20s. At that age I was doing some dumb ****, and I was a relatively calm, introverted kid with hardly any money. It might actually be beneficial for some of these players to have to wait an extra year for their big payday. Give them time to gain a little more maturity and really establish good habits to earn it.
I think deferring payment through some sort of financial instrument / annuity could be good for them, a deferred payment from Reebok saved Allen Iverson, or he would actually be broke as he claimed to be in divorce court, instead he is/will be fine with the amount of money he is getting from deferred payments. I think they should still get paid well overall, if you look at the importance of younger players and how much revenue they bring in, and what they put their bodies through and risk their future earnings on every loose ball, you'd want to be sure they are treated fairly. Someone like Wemby/Chet etc can be injured before an extension comes up, and should be able to capitalize for the risk they take in putting their health on the line.
With Marcus Smart now out, and the Grizzles with the second worst record currently, I am wondering what their plan will be for Ja when his suspension is up. If you are suspended for 25 games, and not allowed to be a part of any team activities, that means he has no practices and no training camp, so he could take several games to get the rust off depending on what he is doing during his suspension as far as training goes. DB seemed to be a glue guy as well, and they let him walk. The Grizzles own their first round picks, and they may both come to the conclusion that maybe he needs to be in another city. The franchise may want to rebrand themselves, and Ja may want a fresh start too. It may be selling low, but I feel like maybe they get some calls around a deal in the coming months.
I think it's more likely they try to see if Ja, JJJ, Desmond Bane and Marcus Smart can mesh together this season. If so, they will keep it together and try to construct a Finals contender in '24 and '25. Obviously Ja must demonstrate to them he can keep his head screwed on.
May make sense to do that to see what they have, especially if the draft next year is relatively weak and lacking talent.
Just days before his return from a 25-game suspension, Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant is set to testify in a hearing for a civil case related to an incident during a pickup basketball game at Morant’s house in July 2022. Morant’s attorneys will argue that he acted in self-defense when he punched Joshua Holloway, a teenage basketball player, during the game. It will be the first time Morant speaks comprehensively about the incident in public. Source: Memphis Commercial Appeal
I think they see how it shakes out up to the trade deadline and re-access things then. If they are still near the bottom by then, perhaps some changes are in order.
Morant will mesh with anybody. He's that good. I would trade Jalen plus 1sts for him. He's that good.
He's a kid, he will grow up and living in Memphis is a bad place for him to live. IMHO Flashing a gun on social media or getting in a fight in a pickup BB game isn't a big deal to me. I dont understand why iit seems to be a big deal to some.
His attitude. Waving guns around (and posting it after he's already in trouble), fighting with kids in a pickup basketball game, the Pacers incident, hanging out with thugs, throwing up gang signs....ect..That's a laundry list of problems for a kid so young. I'm not denying his talent on the court but if the Grizzlies decide to move on from him there's even more to it then we know
To me, what he's done isn't a big deal. He's just a kid that needs to grow up and probably needs a change of scenery. Of course I'm older and remember when Marvin Barnes owed some guys money and they showed up to the arena carrying guns.
Not to mention hints of a potential problem with alcohol. We already tried this with Ty Lawson. No thank you.
It may not be a big deal to you or others, but I think it is a very big deal to the NBA. The league and the owners are afraid that bad behavior by players could reflect negatively on the NBA brand and impact the bottom line.
Fair enough. We can agree to disagree on it. I'm not actively rooting against him as I enjoy watching him play. I just think if he doesn't get rid of his entourage trouble is going to find him again. I do agree he needs to get out of Memphis but it doesn't seem he wants to. Time will tell
Well, Brooks should have insight as to whether he would mesh or not and I'm sure Ime has his sources. If a trade is ever made, I am fairly confident it will be with the consent of the coach and maybe even the team instead of a fan-driven "wow, did you see that?" decision.
