Ja Morant has frequently courted controversy in recent years, notably through extended suspensions related to gun incidents. The dynamic guard once again drew scrutiny after a heated locker-room exchange with Memphis Grizzlies head coach Tuomas Iisalo following a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers . This incident resulted in a one-game suspension for the star.
According to Draymond Green , the Grizzlies are playing with fire in suspending Morant, as they may be crossing a line from which there is no turning back.
Green shared that he watched the game between the Grizzlies and the Lakers and immediately noticed how disengaged Morant was. Hearing the guard's comments after the match confirmed Dray's suspicions: something is happening inside the Grizzlies' locker room that people don't know about.
Draymond, though, disagreed with Memphis' levying a one-game suspension on Ja, saying those measures don't achieve much outside of turning a bad situation worse. As somebody who has incurred his fair share of suspensions in his decorated career, Green is as credible a source on the matter as anyone in the league.
"What I will say is this. I am not a big fan of suspending your top guys. As a guy who's been suspended through the years, I don't think it does much of anything outside of pissing the guys off," the fiery forward said on his podcast. "And so when you're talking your first and most important player and you're suspending that guy, like there's always the possibility of like there's no coming back from that."
Ja's arrival in Memphis in 2019 has helped the Grizzlies usher in a new era for the franchise. Following the demise of the "Grit and Grind" era, the team endured a few dismal seasons. However, Morant's spectacular play rejuvenated the team and elevated them back to contender status in the West. Unfortunately, his off-court troubles have stalled the point guard's meteoric rise, and his recent conflict with the Grizzlies' coach will not do him any favors.
Green believes the storm has been brewing for a while now, since the team fired head coach Taylor Jenkins nine games before the start of the playoffs last season. Jenkins was popular amongst the players, especially Morant and big man Jaren Jackson Jr.
"So when you see this, this leaves you in a space of is this the beginning of the end? And it takes you back to Taylor Jenkins getting fired and them hiring the assistant, just bumping the assistant coach up. It takes you back to that, and you wonder, was that the beginning of the end?" Green quipped.
"You just up and fire him, you're almost signaling to Ja and possibly Jaren that you really don't give a damn what they think about who's coaching them. And so that right there would definitely be the beginning of the end," he speculated.
As someone who has gone through team-imposed disciplinary sanctions before, Green revealed that this tactic can only go one of two ways: either Morant will come out with more focus or he'll be more lethargic than ever before.
"Once the suspension happens, then there's a level of trust that's broken. Because also now you're taking money out of my pockets. And so there's a level of trust that's broken once the suspensions start being levied," Dray stated. "And so again, you have to ask yourself the question of what's next. If the trust is being broken, you already don't know what the trust was before. But whatever it was, if it was good, it's gone down. If it was bad, it's gone from bad to worse with a suspension."
Morant is undeniably one of the best guards in the NBA and players of his caliber don't grow on trees. However, the question now on everyone's minds is whether he's more trouble than he's worth. While Ja's talent on the court is unquestionable, his behavior off the court has raised some concerns and questions about whether he's the player the Grizzlies can rely on to take them to the next level.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Nov 4, 2025, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
