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It’s been a very interesting few weeks for Ja Morant, who has repeatedly seen his performance on the court overshadowed by some incidents that occurred off of (or, in one case, near) the hardwood.
In January, the Grizzlies star and some of his teammates got into it with Shannon Sharpe after the Fox Sports personality butted heads with his father Tee during a game in Los Angeles. The elder Morant was also reportedly at the center of another strange altercation involving members of his son’s entourage and the Pacers following a showdown in Memphis.
In the meantime, the Grizzlies are still near the top of the Western Conference thanks to the 34-22 record they’ve posted as of this writing. Unfortunately, they’ve also hit a bit of a rough patch after getting off to one of the strongest starts in the league, as they’ve gone 3-9 over the course of their last dozen contests.
By itself, that stat would suggest Morant may have spoken a bit too soon when he confidently stated he and the rest of the team are “fine in the West” while dismissing the notion he’s worried about having to face anyone else in the conference in the playoffs.
However, that comment came back to haunt him following the blockbuster trades that sent Kyrie Irving to the Mavericks and Kevin Durant to the Suns ahead of the NBA trade deadline last week, which CJ McCollum joked was the result of the universe deciding Morant needed a massive dose of karma.
It doesn’t seem like he’s changed his stance on that position, as Drew Hill of The Daily Memphian reports Morant doubled down on his claim while denying his feelings have changed in the wake of the Western Conference’s landscape getting a major shakeup.
Back to hoops because I’m still salty about that Super Bowl ending:
Ja Morant gets asked about his “fine in the West” comment everywhere on the road. He backed it yet again on Sunday.
“My confidence will never change. I don’t care who has something to say about it.”
— Drew Hill (@DrewHill_DM) February 13, 2023
Only time will tell if those statements will come back to haunt him once the playoffs roll around, but you can be sure plenty of people will be very excited to pull out the receipts if Morant and the Grizzlies fail to punch their ticket to the NBA Finals.