ESPN’s Tim MacMahon on the Basketball Illuminati podcast shares his insider access with NBA superstars’ agents who are accusing Ja Morant of tarnishing NBA players’ reputations.
Full Quote:
>”I’m curious what stance \[the players association\] might take, I’ve talked to agents of other superstar players and they’re pissed off too. Because this is not just a bad look for Ja Morant. This is not just a bad look for the Memphis Grizzlies. This reflects poorly on the entire league.”
>”I’m talking to an agent of another superstar and he’s like ‘Man, this really taints the image of the whole league. I’ve got my clients who are doing everything right, who are never sniffing any kind of trouble. Positive members of their community. So on and so forth, but then the perception is going to be ‘Look at this fool who thinks playing with guns on Instagram Live is cool.”
>”So the players’ association thing will be interesting because it’s not just the league office, it’s not just the Memphis Grizzlies. Other teams are livid about this and other agents are livid about this because they feel it reflects poorly on everybody.”
[At the 28:50 mark of the Basketball Illuminati podcast](https://open.spotify.com/episode/56h53pwNerdBcvih4EleY4?si=R1ZDG04jSyySeZHCCZVfOA&utm_source=copy-link)
by dr_crackgeek
23 Comments
You’d have to be an idiot to associate the entire league with the garbage of one person.
But there are a lot of idiots out there
Joe Dumars and Adam Silver are going to fuck Morant so much, especially with the peer pressure to really do him bad
Not really understanding, nobody is going to look at Lebron any less because of what Ja is doing.
Hes getting suspended fr this time
If the league rep is tarnished its because Silver is SOFT af and let him off easy the first time.
“Okay, now you’re fuckin with *my* money.”
The media so starved for Ja content that they’re talking about the superstars’ agents’ reactions.
I know it was bad, but Jesus Christ.
What about the marketing staff? How did they feel? Coming up on sportscenter…
>I’m curious what stance [the players association] might take
If the league tries to ban him for half the season, the union will absolutely challenge the length of the suspension.
There’s no real precedent, and far more egregious “detrimental to the league” conduct has received lighter punishment.
I don’t think an arbitrator will love the “he deserves a more severe punishment because he’s a star” argument.
It might be in the league’s best interest to announce a 40-game suspension to show how seriously they take the issue, but I doubt it would stick.
>NBA superstars’ agents
The union doesn’t decide what to do based on superstars; they decide based on the collective good of all members. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have agreed to rules (like max contracts) that screw stars for the benefit of lesser players.
*Other teams* = Western Conference playoff teams
Ja’s dad will put on the redemption shirt again and everything will be ok. Don’t worry guys
Arenas brought guns into the lockeroom, but that was ~~20~~ 15 years ago. I say this is half a year or 50 games.
They’re right. I have a few nba hating right wingers in my life and all I’ve heard last few months because of Ja is that all nba players are “thugs” and what not. The league has done a great job of shedding that image by having good guys like Lebron, Steph, Giannis, Luka, Jokic, Tatum be the faces of the league.
He’s giving the trolls fodder and it looks bad on the entire league
Meanwhile 2K added Lik durk to my team so kids can pay them real money that play with an actual gang member that raps about killing people and mocks dead teenagers.
Alot of the kids they are trying protect from Ja are listening to durk and a bunch of other artist with toxic lyrics
They are correct. Ja was given a second chance and set it on fire, he needs to have the book thrown at him or the league will look soft on discipline about an incident that virtually everyone agrees needs to be addressed seriously. The basketball implications, his role within his team, what his success means for the larger NBA landscape and his pepsi contract make this the absolute worst time for this to be happening from a league perspective which is why I think there has been a bit of a slow play on this from Silvers office.
I love MacMahon but his disdain for Ja is so obvious and i love it😂
*You either die as the goat, or you live long enough to become the scapegoat.*
I feel like Lil Wayne’s statements are probably how more players feel:
> “[Ja] come from a town of 3,000 people. What y’all expect? You gave him $200 million. I just said a town of 3,000 people. You expect him to be responsible? Now we trippin’. That’s magic. Because I can tell you I come from a real well-raised beautiful mother. My mama bust her ass to make sure everything around me was nice, and I still was a knucklehead. I shot myself.”
[source](https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/lil-wayne-ja-morant-all-the-smoke-1235332588/)
A big problem with being a minority in American society is that the actions of the dumbest of your group hurts everyone who looks like them.
it’s true. The league is better when it’s a family product — more viewers — more money. If they suspend Ja… gun advocates will *potentially* be talking about the NBA taking away a player’s rights despite the fact that Ja was carelessly handling a gun. If they don’t suspend, then it looks like they are advocating for carelessly handling a gun and saying to people that it’s okay in today’s environment where gun violence seems rampant.
This is a political debate with a lot of talking heads that the league does not want.
This is why the league’s talking heads have been saying that they’re lucky to have Giannis, Jokic, Lebron and Steph to represent the league. They all say the right things and portray themselves the right way. The league benefits from their stars being “family friendly”
i wouldn’t be surprised if the league will actively try to limit Ja’s stardom in the future and circle around another player but then again — it’s hard to cover talent since talent is the main engine to their product.
This is always where it was going to go. The NBA and NBA players union cannot have a gun toting clown going on the internet every month painting a picture that NBA players are criminal thugs. It’s very, very bad business for literally everyone involved.
Hell nah this is stupid. Out of 400 players in the league 399 are NOT waving guns on IG
I dislike the people saying “What’s wrong with owning a firearm” totally missing the point of Ja being a fucking idiot and making the league look bad.
And this is why David Stern was so stern (hehe). You go overboard with the punishments to make sure the league won’t be associated to crime, and drugs, which half the country is so ready to do anyways.