Ja Morant, an exile from Memphis marked by guns, threats and street fights

The exile of Ja Morant from Memphis with his transfer to portland by Jerami Grant and Kris Murray is the chronicle of a fallen idol announced given the abrupt and unfortunate descent into hell of the controversial point guard, victim of the extravagant and unnecessary character he wanted to build.

Drafted 2 in 2019 and seven seasons in the city of Tennessee, Morant never pulled the trigger but has shot himself a few times with the issue of guns. In March 2023, the star appeared in an Instagram live showing said weapon, which led to an 8-game suspension in the NBA.

But, far from learning, the current base 26 years He returned to his old ways and in May of the same year he again showed a gun inside a vehicle with a friend. This time the NBA imposed an exemplary 25-game ban on him, which meant that the following season, 2023-2024, did not debut until December.

In that match against the Pelicans, the All-Star starred in what was an idyllic redemption of the fallen idol, culminating with an ecstatic winning basket in a performance of 34 points. Although the rise to stardom was as fleeting as it was ephemeral, with injuries taking a toll on him physically in all this time, Morant has damaged both his reputation as a person and as a leader with other scandals.

And the thing about guns had more chapters. In January 2023, and after a rugged victory against the Indiana Pacers Morant was accused of pointing a gun at the Pacers bus from a car in which he was riding with more friends. At that same meeting, Ja Morant’s father, Tee, He was involved in a brawl with Pacers players in which his son ended up getting into to defend his father.

As the saying would say, one for another and also a repeat offender, since Tee Morant was expelled from a game between the Grizzlies and Thunder in February 2025 for insulting the referees from his front row seat.

In April 2025 Ja Morant was able to say for once that he did nothing, although he did something to be sued. Finally acquitted, the star was taken to trial for allegedly assaulting a minor by throwing a basketball in his face in a street party in summer 2022.

But the problems continued for Morant the following season, 2025-2026 and the last one played to date. In the murkiest controversy, the star was again suspended for a game at the beginning of the season, this time for answering his coach in a bad manner. Tuomas Iisaloafter he gave him a warning in the locker room in a game in front of the rest of his teammates.

As a defining example of that impostor syndrome that has led him to be banished from Memphis, even when there was reason to celebrate the Grizzlies could not have the party in peace with Ja Morant, who this past season was also at the center of controversy for making gestures of war celebration after scoring while simulating the use of guns or even bazookas. After notifying him, the NBA fined him $75,000 for repeat offender.

Added to all this is the fact that what Morant did on the court no longer compensated for his occurrences off the hardwood, since the point guard has barely played. 79 matches in the last three seasons due to his recurring injuries and in this recent campaign he posted his worst numbers since his rookie season to confirm his decline also on the hardwood: 19.5 points, 3 rebounds and a good 8 assists but with a meager 41% in field goals and a pyrrhic 23.5% in triples with a volume of 4.3 shots. But the better Morant was not able to take the Grizzlies very far either, with the Conference Semifinals 2022 as a limit.

It will be necessary to see if in Portland they get Ja Morant on track with a veteran of the caliber of Damian Lillard as a counterpart in the point guard position. Through his fault and his alone, the point guard has gone from being a hero to a villain in Memphis for insisting on being a bad boy who has not fixed it with good grades with increasingly worse numbers, absences and lack of defense and three-point shooting, essential in today’s NBA. Ja Morant, the star who shoots but doesn’t shoot.