Ja Morant sat out one game after leaving the coaches

Memphis Grizzlies star rush I Morant was suspended one game by the team for “conduct detrimental to the team,” the organization announced Saturday afternoon.

This suspension for Morant comes less than 24 hours after the Grizzlies lost the NBA Cup to the Los Angeles Lakers, a game in which they lost five points at home after leading by as many as 15 points.

after the game Morant was visibly frustrated and didn’t hold back on the Grizzlies’ coaching staff in his postgame comments.

“Go ask the coaching staff,” Morant told reporters when asked what went wrong for him Friday night. “They spilled out here.”

When asked about the lack of energy in the game, especially during the second half against Los Angeles, Morant again told reporters to ask the head coach Tuomas Iisalo why was that.

Morant continued to answer reporters’ questions by telling them to ask the coaching staff until he was asked what he could have done differently outside of the coach’s control. The star point guard made it very clear in his response was not happy with the Grizzlies’ coaching staff.

“According to them, probably don’t kid me, honestly. That was basically the message. So… it’s cool. It’s cool.”

In the locker room after the game, before the media representatives were released, Iisalo caused Morant’s leadership and effort, per Shams Charania of ESPN. This led to a response from Morant that was deemed inappropriate.

As a result of this one-game suspension, Morant will to lose $272,042, which is about 1/145th of his salary of $39,446,090, according to ESPN office insider Bobby Marks.

Morant, who is in his seventh season with the Grizzlies, has been suspended multiple times before.

After that suspended by the league for eight games during the 2022-23 season. for conduct prejudicial to the league for flashing a gun during a live video broadcast at a Denver nightclub, Morant was suspended for the second time for 25 games in June 2023 for the same criminal act.

Between the suspension and missing time due to injury, Morant has only played in about 65 percent of the Grizzlies’ total games since being selected second overall in the 2019 NBA Draft.

What the future holds for Morant is very much unknown at this point, as his relationship with Iisal and the Grizzlies’ new coaching staff is shaky. Morant had a strong relationship with Taylor Jenkins, Memphis’ previous head coach, which is why many are beginning to wonder if this one-game suspension at the start of the 2025-26 season could be a tipping point for the star’s relationship with the team.

Morant has two years remaining on his $197.2 million contract and will not become an unrestricted free agent until 2028.

The Grizzlies had no further comment on Morant, and he will miss Sunday night’s game against the Toronto Raptors.