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Have the Memphis Grizzlies already seen the best of Ja Morant?



Have the Memphis Grizzlies already seen the best of Ja Morant?

On this Tuesday edition of Lockdown Grizzlies, I wonder out loud if the best days of John Morand are behind the Memphis Grizzlies. Plus, I feel sorry for myself and Memphis Grizzlies fans everywhere in the wake of an NBA draft lottery that could have gone worse, but certainly could have gone better for the Grizzlies. Let’s lock in. You are Locked On Grizzlies, your daily Memphis Grizzlies podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network. Your team every day. Happy Tuesday. This is your host Joe Mullenax on this episode of Lockdown Grizzlies. No Demich Cole this time around after a long weekend for your boys here on Lockdown Grizzlies. enjoying Mother Mother’s Day with my wife, with Deichel’s mother, of course, and Demich taking an extended little breather from the pod. He will be back, I promise. Happy to be with you on this edition of the show, Flying Solo. Today’s episode of Lockdown Grizzlies is brought to you by FanDuel. Right now, new customers can get $200 in bonus bets when your first $5 bet wins. We’re free and available wherever you get podcasts as proud members of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team each and every single day. Like, comment, rate, review, subscribe on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, YouTube, Google, literally anywhere you get a podcast. Make sure to Michael and I are part of your NBA and Memphis Grizzlies content consumption each and every time that an episode drops. We’ll talk a lot throughout the week about a variety of topics. We’ll start our player review series. For me, it’s going to center around the question of John Morant and have we seen his best already? Is there more to more juice to squeeze from the proverbial fruit when it comes to John? on his game. We’ll talk more about that throughout the show, but I wanted to lead off with the absolute ridiculousness that was the NBA draft lottery on Monday night. Now, I want to preface all of this with saying that I am not a conspiracy theorist. As much as I loathe Adam Silver and if you’re an everydayer of lockdown grizzlies, you know that I cannot stand the worst general or excuse me, the worst commissioner in the history. Not the history, that’s a little strong. The worst commissioner in professional sports today in my opinion is Adam Silver. It’s hard to say that the league is rigged when you understand how probability works. Right? Probability is the possibility of something occurring. Just because that percentage is low does not mean that it is not possible. It does not mean it is not like it’s not something that can’t happen. However, the improbability of the Dallas Mavericks securing the number one overall pick, something that had a 1.8% chance of happening going into the festivities on Monday night for the Mavericks to jump up 10 spots in the lottery and secure that number one overall pick to use as they see fit. Obviously, Cooper Flag could be the prize. A pretty slam dunk number one prospect in this draft, but it also could be used in a trade for the Dallas Mavericks. They could go into some big game hunting. A Giannis, that’s Dukeo. We’ll talk more about Giannis later on this week. Kevin Durant could be had. We’ve talked about that recently here on Locked on Grizzlies. So now the Dallas Mavericks could go and get a third man or they could draft Cooper flag and hit the reset button with a new young cornerstone piece in the wake of the Luca Donuch trade. the way that it all went down. If I was a conspiracy theorist, I would say that Adam Silver had the fix in from the jump because it’s very convenient for Nico Harrison, the general manager of the Dallas Mavericks to make that move, sending Luca to Los Angeles. The question marks, the frustration, so many fans not renewing season tickets, so many people angry to the point that they were willing to renounce their fandom of the Dallas Mavericks. Now look at this. All of a sudden, like mana from heaven, here comes Cooper flag to the Dallas Mavericks. Potentially, or at the very least, a very attractive trade asset. The Mavericks could restart, reset. The Mavericks could use that pick to acquire another star like we mentioned a moment ago. Or if you want to subscribe to the Matt Moore at HP Basketball OnX model that you have two max contracts in this era of the CBA and you build around those two guys, there’s arguments to be made for acquiring a few different pieces around Kyrie and AD using that first round pick. But to have this luxury fall to you, it’s hard to say, “Let’s bring in a couple of starters and a role player in exchange for the chance to have a potential franchise player in Cooper Flag.” That’s difficult to say out loud. So, I would imagine Dallas will dream a little bit bigger, whether it’s keeping flag or making a bigger all-star move, all NBA move. How does all this pertain to the Memphis Grizzlies? Well, it’s not great for Memphis, obviously, regardless of how Dallas moves forward with the number one overall pick. The Southwestern division, the Western Conference, just got tougher. Flag is an extremely talented wing, 6’9, capable of doing a lot of different things. He’s not Luca Donuch, but he has Luca adjacent talents as a creator off the dribble, both for himself and for others given his size. He has a lot of potential this Cooper flag and obviously he makes a lot of sense for a team in the Mavericks whether they’re trying to go the rebuild route which it doesn’t seem they are or if they want to bring in a young talent that should help them compete and compete immediately. There are not many weaknesses in Cooper flags game. If you go to my favorite website this time of year tankathon.com their stat strength and stat weaknesses. There are no weaknesses according to Tankathon in Cooper Flags game. He’s a creator. He’s a rebounder. He’s a plus defender. He can do pretty much anything you need him to do on the basketball court. And again, he’s a forward combo forward. Can play on the perimeter. So you got your big and AD. You got Kyrie at the point when he returns from injury. You got Cooper flag. That’s concerning. Then you look at who got the number two pick in the draft. The numero do selection said as such because it is the San Antonio Spurs. Now the Spurs move up six spots. They’re right there in the running with Dallas for that number one pick there at the end. It was very suspenseful. Can you imagine Cooper Flag and Victor Webyama and Stefon Castle next to each other. But Cooper Flag is either going to Dallas or somewhere else unless the Spurs try to trade up a pick. Instead of it being Cooper Flag, more than likely it could be a Dylan Harper or Ace Bailey, one of the two Ruters players. could be somebody like a VJ Edkum from Baylor or the Spurs now could use this number two overall pick plus other assets and young talent that they have in their possession to go get a Kevin Durant to go get more specifically a Giannis Antoumpo. So it was a bad night for the Memphis Grizzlies and I’m not going to sit here and try Grizzlies had lost in the playin. they’d have Cooper flag right now. There’s no guarantee that would have happened. Random assortments and events can occur and who knows if the Grizzlies had lost that playin game, what would have occurred. Dallas Mavericks, they luck out. But the Grizzlies now have to deal with whatever the ramifications of this will be. Whether it’s Cooper Flag and another young piece going to San Antonio and Cooper Flag to Dallas, I should say to clarify, that’s a problem. That makes the Western Conference that much harder moving forward. If both Dallas and San Antonio use these picks somehow in what has been predicted to be a tumultuous and busy summer ahead for the NBA. If they use these picks to make their teams better in the here and now, that is going to impact the Grizzlies team who at 38 and 34 were the number eight seed in the Western Conference playoffs whose season for Memphis just concluded a couple of weeks ago. So, you are looking at a much better prepared for the future Dallas Mavericks. A much better prepared for the future San Antonio Spurs. You have the Houston Rockets who clearly also could be in the Giannis running and rumor has it according to reports that Houston is a preferred destination for Kevin Durant if Giannis is not interested in going to the Rockets. So, Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, all well positioned to get better and get better either quickly or with a larger ceiling or a higher ceiling over time over the next several years. It’s very possible. We’re looking at a scenario where the Memphis Grizzlies could be the fourth best team in the Southwest Division within a year or two as the Pelicans, we assume, get ready to tank themselves. That is problematic moving forward for the Memphis Grizzlies given how their roster is constructed. Let us know in the comments. Hit us up on X at Joe Mullenax. I don’t think it’s rigged. Right. I said the NBA was rigged on X. I don’t truly believe that on social media. Do you think it’s rigged? How convenient. Dallas pulls off this Luca Dona trade to help Luca Donuch trade gets into Los Angeles saves the ratings of the NBA supposedly and now they have the number one overall pick. Is it too convenient for you? Or you know that’s the way the cookie crumbles sometimes. It’s not a good crumble of the cookie for the Memphis Grizzlies regardless of the reason that it transpired. When we come back here on Lockdown Grizzlies, we’re going to talk the rest of this show about John Mar’s regular season and his playoffs, his late run. Have we seen the best of Jarant or is there more to get out of Jaw’s game in the NBA? We’ll talk about that next. Stick around here on Lockdown Grizzlies. Today’s episode of Lockdown Grizzlies is brought to you by Hungry Route. Everyone in my house always has something going on. This is the busy season. Not a lot of time to go grocery shopping or cook healthy meals at home. That’s why Hungry Root is our choice. Hungry Root is like having your own personal shopper and nutritionist wrapped into one. They take care of grocery shopping, meal planning, offering personalized recommendations based on your taste and health goals. 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So, we’re going to do player reviews throughout the month of May. And we’re going to start off today with Jaw Morant. Jaw is a player that is fascinating to discuss whether it’s on social media here with you on this episode of Lockdown Grizzlies wherever the conversation gets struck. He’s a very polarizing guy, right? We see it almost every day on social media, the gunfingers situation, the ridiculousness of that. And coupling that with the fact that he has a Jaw 2 shoe, he has the top 10 or a top 10 selling jersey in the NBA. All of the concerns and pearl clutching, however you want to describe it, when it comes to interacting with John Morant as a personality, as an NBA superstar, there’s disconnects. Rarely, if you have a group of basketball fans in the room and you go around asking about John Morant, will you get unifying threads of connection, right? You ask 10 different people something about Jarant, they’ll give you 10 different answers. But there are some universal truths that I do think make me nervous about Jaw moving forward as the best player for the Memphis Grizzlies. Can the Grizzlies win a championship with Jarant as their best player on their roster? I think there is mounting evidence to suggest that they cannot. Exhibit A. John Morant continues to be a poor three-point shooter. This is somebody who has one of the better handles in the NBA. He’s one of the better creators off the dribble in the NBA. He does so many things well on the offensive end of the court in particular, but he has not shown the capacity to shoot better than 33 or 34% from three throughout his entire career. And we’re talking about a career that now has six seasons played. Now, obviously, some of those seasons were disrupted because of injury and suspension, things like that. Jaw has not played more than 67 games in a season his entire career. If you’re going off of the now the standard of playing 65 games to be eligible for postseason awards, Jaw only would have been eligible to win that rookie of the year in 2019 2020. He has not played more than 67 games since that rookie campaign. So durability is a concern of course, but it’s also what he does when he’s on the floor in terms of floor spacing. The book is out on Jaw Morant just like the book is out on Jiren Jackson Jr. just like the book is out on Desmond Bane. There are no surprises anymore. These guys are NBA veterans now. Jaw is explosive as an athlete. He is very crafty finishing at the rim. But he tries to draw contact. He’s willing to use his body in that way which leads to more durability concerns. Absorbing that contact gets harder and harder given his slight frame. And if you go under screens and you make him beat you from three, is he capable? Sure. There were several times throughout the season where he made three or four threes in a game. And that unlocks a level to this Grizzlies offense that the team simply doesn’t have consistently because J doesn’t bring that level of three-point conversion to the table enough. That’s concerning. Is he able to continue to grow and m and develop his game now that he has new head coach toutelage from Tumas Iselo? Will they be able to unlock that mid-range and three-point shot so that Jaw doesn’t have to go and float and fly around the rim and open himself up to contact because the durability question is a fair one. Can you count on John Moran to be on the floor? in defensive jaw. He made the point in his end of season media availability and towards the end of the playoffs that the injuries that he sustained this year, it’s not like it was a bad back, right? It’s not like it was a lingering issue, a reoccurring problem. These were all not freak accidents, but they were all items that weren’t necessarily connected. So, while jaw missed a lot of time, and he did miss a lot of time, it’s not like you point at any one thing and say that’s going to be a long-term concern. Even the hip injury that he sustained in the Oklahoma City Thunder series, not something that the Grizzlies are worried about long term. No surgeries were needed. This physical therapy, rehab, getting himself back up on his feet, literally. But one of the greatest skills in life is availability. One of the greatest abilities that is. And Jaw has not been nearly available enough. So the ability to shoot from range, even the ability to to pull up on the on the short jumper, right? the ability to knock down a jump shot in the mid-range, not his strength. And because he’s not efficient enough in that space, he’s efficient compared to other NBA point guards. That’s important to point out, but still not enough to make a defense alter how they scheme to deal with what Jaw brings to the table athletically and how he enables and allows for teammates to find their offensive rhythm around him. availability is a concern. His development of his offensive game is a concern. And to be frank, along with Jiren Jackson Jr., who’s about to get a contract extension from somebody, along with Desmond Bane, who has a near max contract, the money that John Mar is a concern. Now, the market dictates value. And if John Morant didn’t sign that max contract that he signed with Memphis, he would have signed it somewhere else. It would have looked different because it would have been either via restricted free agency down the road or it would have been in a a trade situation. But Jaw was going to get the money that he got regardless of whether or not Memphis paid it. But we talk a lot about this CBA and how roster building becomes more complicated. And one of the goals of this collective bargaining agreement is to limit the capacity of a super team. Now, are John Morant, Jiren Jackson Jr., and Desmond Bane a super team? No, they’re not a super team. That’s a st a pretty strong core that a vast majority of the NBA would take, though. And that money being spent on all three of those guys, including Jiren, once that new extension kicks in presumably in 26, 2026, you are talking about a lot of money tied up in three players that is going to inhibit how you build your roster. Jaw’s trade value has probably never been lower. I saw somebody online say Giannis for Jaw. Straight up, the Bucks laugh and hang up the phone. The Grizzlies would have to add more to that trade. And I think there’s a realistic argument to be made that if you really wanted to get the Giannis sweep stakes, start with Jiren and Bane because that would be a more competitive offer because Jaw is not able to stay on the floor because Jaw has not shown consistent growth in his offensive game in particular relative to what his role is supposed to be as one of, if not the best players in the NBA. So, have we seen the best of John Mar? Potentially. When we come back here on Lockdown Grizzlies, I’m going to give you reasons to be optimistic. I’m going to find ways to discuss how Jaw’s best days are ahead of him. Stick around. Today’s episode of Lockdown Grizzlies is brought to you by FanDuel. The NBA playoffs, of course, are in full swing, and every night delivers highlight worthy performances, major momentum shifts, and can’tmiss moments. Whether it’s a game-winning shot or a breakout player, there’s never been a better time to get in on the action with FanDuel. They make it easy to stay in the game before tip off as well as live. With player preps, performance trends, and same game parlays, fans have more ways than ever to play smart and win big. You can play many different types of live bets Midame based on how the action unfolds. And if you have a read on who is heating up, why not back it up with a same game parlay? And how could a $200 bonus in bets add to the excitement of a first $5 bet? You’re just going to have to check it out and find out. If you’re new to FanDuel, it’s the perfect time to sign up. Head to fanduel.com and place your first $5 bet. If it wins, you get $200 in bonus bets. Make every moment more with FanDuel, official sports betting partner of the National Basketball Association. Closing out today’s episode with some positivity. One of the main reasons to believe that John Morant has his best days ahead is the coaching change to Isel. We have no idea what he is as an NBA head coach when it is his show. We’ve seen him as I said recently on an episode of Lockdown Grizzlies try to crash a plane that’s or try to fruian slip try to land a plane that is on fire in the air and it led in a crash landing. But it is really difficult to base any real judgment of what Iselo is a head coach off of dealing with the ramifications of Zack Kleman’s poor timing and Taylor Jing’s poor run late in the season coaching this basketball team. Iselo is the least responsible for those results. Now that it is his show and you study what he did with Paris basketball before coming over to the Grizzlies last year and you see the pick and roll actions, you see just how vital a small shifty creative off the dribble ability to facilitate for others offensively and get his own shot. That position is really vital in a Memphis in a uh Touas isolo offense, at least what we’ve seen in the Euro League. You know anybody that’s like that? I do. His name’s John Morant. So Jaw could be a bounceback candidate in terms of someone who is going to have better numbers in this scheme because it’s going to ask him to be a scoreer. It’s going to ask him to be aggressive. It’s not going to have him stand in the corner like Taylor Jenkins did throughout this past season before he was let go. Another reason to be optimistic about John Morance is the presence of Zack Edy. Because the second thing you’ll notice about Tumos Elo teams is Zack Edy checks the box of a big screenable body that is going to create space for John Morant to work with. And one of the most beautiful parts of Jarant’s game as a basketball player is he is like an artist when that holds tremendous value for Jaw. Having a big body, having someone like Edy that can set that screen and allow for Morant to come downhill with a full head of steam, have his eyes up, see cutters at the basket, see people being aggressive in the on back cuts and off of flares. There is so much potential just with that one simple twoman action. And at 7 foot4, 290 pounds, Zack Edy brings so much to the table for this Grizzlies offense in that particular role. When we’ve seen John Moran thrive, it’s been alongside a Jonas Valenunis. It’s been alongside a Steven Adams, a big center that is capable of screening aggressively and putting Jaw in positions to take the space, create and close it at his own will. Zack Edy can do that and do that at a high level. Another reason to be optimistic about John Morant’s best days being ahead is the fact that he is not rehabbing. He is not currently, knock on wood, under suspension or league investigation. This is somebody who has a full summer to prioritize growing and developing his game. Doesn’t have to worry about a shoulder, doesn’t have to worry about a knee or an ankle. Once his hip is good to go and he’s cleared for contact, he can go and get the work in that he needs to get, he can understand how to better contour his body and draw off contact without foul. Watch a lot of James Harden tape, a lot of SGA tape this summer. Jaw Jaw can better understand passing angles and be a smarter, more efficient defender. He’s never going to be a true plus player on that end of the court. He’s asked to do too much offensively by the Memphis Grizzlies to be able to wear both hats effectively, but he can continue to be a deflector, to be a disruptor, to be somebody that creates extra possessions. And I also think that we’re going to see the best days of Jaw Morant ahead because he was so out of character in one particular space this past season, and that was with turnovers. Jaw had a 14.1% turnover rate this past season. That is 40th percentile per cleaning the glass. That is well below average among NBA point guards. That is not the norm for Jaw Morant over the prior three seasons. Jaws percentages were at 11.9% back in 2021 2022 11.4% in 2022 2023. And then obviously in the very small sample size of nine games in 2023 2024 he was at 10.9%. So Jaw has had turnover problems in the past but this was his worst year with that since his sophomore season back in 2020 2021. And I don’t see that continuing. I do not believe that John Morant will have the same problems that he did being a part of this convoluted offense. He was uncomfortable. He didn’t have what he needed. As long as John Marant is not being traded, and Grizzlies GM Zach Klyman has made it very clear that is not in the plan of the Memphis Grizzlies. If Jaw is part of the long-term wheelings and dealings of this franchise, he is the best player they have on their roster in terms of superstar ceiling. Is he a number one on a championship team? No, I don’t think he is. But could Jiren Jackson Jr., Desmond Bane be a core of a trade for somebody that could be a number one potentially if Memphis chooses to go that route or if the Grizzlies choose to lean into a Desmond Bayer Jiren Jackson Jr. and trade the other option and bring in various role players and starting caliber players. You can at least provide veteran depth around Jaw that he has not had a chance to truly enjoy at any point throughout his NBA career. If you want to tip your cap to Dylan Brooks and Stephen Adams, I’m cool with that. But at the same time, the fact remains we have not seen John Morant with players like an Alex Caruso, a Dorian Finny Smith. Those names and that type of player has not ever been in Memphis as long as John has been there. So, if Klyman is speaking the truth and there are going to be lots of opportunities for roster improvement, building and piecing around Jaw and seeing what he is capable of is still worth investment in my opinion because what’s the alternative? You trade Jaw Morant and restart this whole thing all over again. You have talented pieces in place. John Mar being the most talented of the lot. put complimentary talents around him that have NBA experience and let’s see exactly what Jaw can do. We haven’t had full exposure to that. And for me, that is the main reason I’m optimistic that the best of Jaw is still to come. Let me know on X. Hit me up in the comments on YouTube. Have we seen the best of Jaw? Do you think his best days are ahead? Are you excited for Jaw’s future? Not his best season, not his worst season. Did some good things. Scored the ball well. was red-hot down the stretch in the wake of the Jenkins firing, Tumas Elo taking over. Are you excited for the Elo era first and foremost because of Jaw Morant being unleashed? I think that’s where I’m at. Thank you so much for being with me on this episode of Lockdown Grizzlies. The next time that we are together, we will talk more about Jiren Jackson Jr., Desmond Bane, spaces where they can improve. Are we excited about their futures? Do we see them as longed for this Memphis Grizzlies life? Plus, maybe we start taking a look uh at how the draft lottery beyond the top two, which obviously impact Memphis tremendously, the other interesting matchups and makeups that could happen in the wake of the NBA draft lottery. We’ll talk about that, I’m sure, as well. Thank you so much for being with me on this episode of Lockdown Grizzlies. Thank you for making us your first listen. Now, for your second listen, you should go and check out NBA Game Night. I’m a big fan of NBA Game Night. Every game, every night until an NBA champion is crowned, get local analysis on a national scale. Find NBA Game Night on Lockdown NBA on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcast. Make sure you’re liking, commenting, rating, reviewing, subscribing on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, Google, YouTube. Literally anywhere you get a podcast, make sure you’re hanging out with the Michael and I each and every time that an episode drops. I appreciate you being with me today. Stay locked in. again. Do you think the Grizzlies have what it takes to have John Morant be the best player on a championship contender? Let me know in the comments. Hit me up on X. See you next time on Locked on Grizzlies.

Ja Morant had an uneven 2024-2025 season for the Grizzlies? Is it possible that Memphis has already experienced the peak of the Ja Morant era? Host Joe Mullinax discusses that, plus the disaster that was the NBA Draft Lottery for the Grizzlies, on this episode of Locked on Grizzlies!

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21 Comments

  1. So Antman, SGA, Cunningham all have passed Ja, plus he stays hurt. This is the best time to trade Ja, for a more dependable rising star.

  2. Ja not at his peak yet in my opinion but he can be better nd will do better his 3pt is not where he specialize at it’s his midrange he gotta get better at he need to start shooting midrange jumper to be better at limitless range shooting if he do that he’ll be one hell of a player 💯

  3. Yes we done seen the best of Ja. Even with a new coach we are going to see the same thing we been seeing. Jaren is the best player on the team like Pippen said he’s the engine and the last I check the engine is the most important part to the car. Chris Paul is just as small as Ja and he’s a great defender so that’s excuses. How can Ja be better than Jaren when we require more from him how does that work. When do a team require more from there 2nd best player . Ja is not a great passer and turnover prone. He’s basically only pass when he gets stuck in the air unless it’s someone who is wide open. He has to be more of a point guard for this team to get better. Ja is more popular but he’s not better or have the skillset of a Jaren. Jaren has the real superstar potential and the Grizzlies drop the ball on the coach as of now.

  4. Ja just needs the offensive system to fit his elite talent… his passing is not utilized ja can pass the ball like magic Johnson or better hope new coach can get it done

  5. The offense must fit around the superstar not make superstar fit the coaches Analytical offense like the grizzlies have done with Ja his whole six year career..it's basketball you play to your strengths..let's Go Grizz 🎉😎😎💯

  6. Ja needs to stay on the court more, a minimal of 67 games. He's at his best when he scores and facilitates. Ja defense is better than 80% most PGs in the league. Ja is exposed when he is guarding a 6'7 wing off pick and rolls. I think his 3pt shooting is going to be better, maybe around 35%. The driving step back jumper he used in the play-in/ playoffs will probably be a bigger part of his game moving forward, and if you add in the floater. We will be looking at a solid mid range game.

  7. since NBA wants Mavs & Spurs to be good and Rockets have picks and talent, Grizzlies is at risk of becoming mediocre (or poverty) franchise that many in Grizzlies fandom called Bulls, Hawks, or Kings… NBA helped both Pels and Griz after being moved up draft lottery to get Zion and Ja but things haven't worked out, Grizz are least talented of the five in the conference with Ja as the only top talent player but even he has serious flaws that would prevent Grizzlies from ascending to top tier. Des and Jaren are very talented for a mediocre team but not for a championship level team.

  8. it's a gambling league, don't trust the "lottery" at all. mavs owned by adelson oligarcy, ? sure, that's legit and i got a bridge in brooklyn to sell you.

  9. No, Ja just needs to stay healthy. If he is hurt on the bench, then he is the worst player on the NBA. Grizzlies need him healthy playing and they will be fine. How to keep him healthy? Ban his dunks. He takes very dumb dunks in my opinion.

  10. Dallas getting number one after setting up #1 national market team (LA) inexplicably for the next decade seems way too much of a coincidence. Teams like Charlotte and Utah should be hiring extremely expensive private investigators to sniff out this clownery, and follow up with a collusion lawsuit. It's just too unlikely to believe it occurred naturally.

  11. And yeah. If Ja can't grow up and get disciplined, even though I think he can be the best guard in the League, we can't get better enough. Ja needs to work on his body to better handle contact without injury, and he's going to have to spend many more hours working on his distance shooting. If he's too rich or immature or unmotivated to do that, he's going to remain a borderline all star talent not quite good enough to lead Grizzlies to the promised land.

  12. Ja durability issues really helping us out contrast wise. No all star selections, all nba selections etc, cheaper contract

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