Stephen A. Smith Says People In The NBA Community Are Concerned That Ja Morant May Not Be Alive In 5 Years
Stephen A. Smith went on the Rich Eisen Show to discuss a variety of things. As the entire basketball world waits until after the NBA Finals to hear from Adam Silver as to what Ja Morant's impending suspension will be, it seems like a potentially grave situation. That's at least according to what Stephen A. has heard from multiple sources he's spoken to around the league:
"I can tell you this: I'm from the streets of New York City. And a lot of players I know are from the streets period. And I can tell you that people within the NBA community are not just concerned about Ja Morant playing basketball. They're concerned about whether or not he's going to be alive in five years because of the environments that he finds himself around. And the situations he finds himself confronted by. It's a serious matter, and it's something that I think that the NBA and everybody that knows anything about the kind of things that are going on with him, find themselves concerned about."
Silver made mention this week about how additional information has been uncovered regarding Morant's off-court behavior. Sure sounds like that aligns with what Stephen A. is laying out here. It must be pretty damn bad. We can only speculate right now as to what a suspension for Ja might look like. Stephen A. is advocating for about 25 games.
It took 11 days following the first of two Instagram live videos where Ja flashed a gun for Silver to dish out an eight-game suspension. Morant had missed five contests prior to that disciplinary action while on hiatus.
You'd think the punishment would be considerably more severe anyway this second time around. Now that we have this additional info yet to be revealed (but at least known by the league office) along with Stephen A's ominous testimony, the ban could be even lengthier than was widely anticipated.
And look, it's sort of a fine line when you bash professional athletes. Yes it comes with the territory. But no matter how much of a dumbass many of us believe Ja Morant to be for flashing a gun on not one, but two IG live videos, calling that out comes more from a place of, "What the fuck are you doing?!" than "I actively root for your downfall."
…Because let's face it, Ja Morant is one of the most electrifying players in the NBA. During the 2022 postseason, his highlights drew the most engagement on social media if memory serves. Even with all these sketchy distractions away from the hardwood, the former No. 2 overall pick out of Murray State continues to flash the elite skill set that can someday drive the Memphis Grizzlies to an NBA championship. The question is, can the 23-year-old get his head on straight in time? Will a second wake-up call actually work? In all seriousness, let's hope so.