Ja Morant was recently given a fresh 25-game suspension by the NBA after video was posted to Instagram of him holding what he contends was a fake gun. The suspension was discussed on ESPN's Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective podcast with Tim MacMahon dropping an almost unbelievable nugget of information.
"I have heard indirectly that Ja and people close to Ja, perhaps, formerly close to Ja, have this feeling that the NBA is out to get him. The media is out to get him. And I’m just saying, are you damn stupid? Why? Do you not think the NBA desperately wants this ridiculously entertaining young American superstar to succeed? Ja Morant being awesome and fun as hell to watch is great for the league. They desperately want him on the court."
McMahon went on to point out that the media and all other NBA stakeholders want Morant on the court, but I'm not transcribing all that because it should go without saying. And yet I'll say it anyway.
Morant is awesome. Everyone wants him to watch him play basketball.
During his breakout '21-'22 season he was called a future Hall of Famer by people like Kevin Durant and Julius Erving. He was considered the future of the league. The media voted Morant the Most Improved Player just a few months before all of this nonsense started to go public.
And when things started to go sideways, almost all the coverage was couched with people saying they hope Morant doesn't throw all of this away. If Morant or someone close to him really thinks the league and the media are out to get him, that's a big problem. If Morant is blaming someone else and isn't taking responsibility for his own actions, as he's said he is a few times, then it's unlikely he's going to be able to stop doing the things that have become an issue.
Even right now, writing about how ridiculous that all is, I'm hoping it's not true! Look at this freaking highlight video! I want this guy on a basketball court dunking on people!
That's why everyone wants Morant to stop f--king around and just focus on playing basketball, the thing that is going to make him obscenely rich. Instead he's going to lose $7.6 million this season while he misses the first 25 games. It will be more if he can't stay out of the news between now and December.
The only person out to get Ja Morant right now is Ja Morant.
This article was originally published on thebiglead as If Ja Morant Honestly Thinks the NBA is Out to Get Him, He's Doomed.