Ja Morant expressed desire to stay in Memphis in clapback at Stephen A. Smith

Ja Morant expressed desire to stay in Memphis in clapback at Stephen A. Smith
Welcome to Layup Lines, For the Win's basketball newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Have feedback for the Layup Lines Crew? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey. Now, here's Prince J. Grimes.
When the Memphis Grizzlies pulled off their stunning trade of Desmond Bane to the Orlando Magic last week, people wondered whether the deal meant they'd be moving on from Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. next in a full rebuild. Now, it seems, we have some answers.
ESPN's Tim Bontemps reported immediately after that the team wants to keep its two remaining building blocks. The feeling is apparently mutual on Morant's end. In a message posted to X on Tuesday, the point guard expressed his desire to remain in Memphis, saying "ima be in dat 901," referencing the city's area code.
Continuing in what seemed to be a response to ESPN's Stephen A. Smith -- who said on First Take other players don't want to go to Memphis for safety concerns -- Morant made a criticism of people focusing on the Grizzlies rather than the ongoing NBA Finals: "instead of focusing on the performances we seen from jdub/shai , tj/siakam, how this series is going . we say sumn negative about a city/team on a national level."
As hit dogs do, Smith hollered in a tweet of his own, citing the recent trade news as his reason for addressing the Grizzlies. And as Smith does, he turned Morant's response into another First Take segment on Wednesday, clarifying his position. "The citizens in Memphis, I think a lot better can be done for them," Smith said. "And Ja Morant staying put and being the galvanizing force he can be, I think can assist in that. That's what I was trying to say."
But this isn't about Smith. This is about Morant.
That he wants to remain in Memphis and seems to have so much passion for the city has to be welcoming news for Grizzlies fans, who were probably dreading an upcoming rebuild after the Bane deal. At his best, Morant is one of the most exciting players in the NBA, and it's hard not to feel like the 25-year-old hasn't scratched the surface of his full potential. The Grizzlies have made the playoffs in four of his six years with the team, and even if they aren't winning, he's reason enough for fans to show up.
The next step for Morant and Memphis is to make a deep playoff push. He has to stay healthy, of course (and make better decisions off the floor), and the Grizzlies have to hope new head coach Tuomas Iisalo is the person who can finally get the most out of the entire roster. But it's important for a small-market team like the Grizzlies to have a star who actually wants to be there. With that much in place, the real work continues on building a contender.
Tyrese Haliburton likely a game-time decision for Game 6
Regardless of whether Tyrese Haliburton is able to go or not for Game 6, I think we can all agree his strained calf is ruining what was a perfect NBA Finals. With the Indiana Pacers' backs up against the wall, it would've been nice to see them have an opportunity to fight back with their star point guard at full health. Now, there's a question of whether Haliburton will be able to go at all.
On Wednesday morning, Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle told 107.5 The Fan that Haliburton will "probably be a game-time decision" for Thursday's game. That means the team has to prepare for two scenarios: one where Haliburton plays and another for if he does not, which isn't ideal at all while facing elimination.
TRADE? Pacers make surprising deal during NBA Finals
It's no wonder why so many other random events across sports have better odds of happening than a Pacers championship right now. The Pacers were going to have their hands full trying to extend a series against the Oklahoma City Thunder as things were. With Haliburton hobbled, it's hard to imagine they still find a way to pull off the upset.
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