Amid teammate beef and house news, Grizzlies look bad not moving Teflon Ja

If the Memphis Grizzlies’ end game is to ruin Ja Morant’s reputation on the way out the door, that ship has sailed. There weren’t many passengers on board.

The majority of people in Memphis will always have that guy’s back. You don’t need a poll for that. The majority of his teammates, past and present, won’t go on the record with many negatives.

So, when the basketball world, literally, is present to see an argument break out between Morant and backup guard Vince Williams, that's an awful look. Williams, who plays with fire every time he hits the floor and is equally an intense competitor, appeared to confront Morant over all that's transpiring at the moment, doing so with international media present and cameras recording. It all brought one prevailing thought to mind.

Another angle of the Ja Morant and Vince Williams…conversation pic.twitter.com/MEWJxzgz92
— Ryan Dickison (@RyanDickison7) January 14, 2026

Memphis Grizzlies GM Zach Kleiman needs to end the Morant era immediately.

The Grizzlies aren’t going to win a PR battle against arguably the most popular player in franchise history. On down the line, and there’s been Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Zach Randolph, Marc Gasol, Mike Conley, Tony Allen… you get it… Morant defeats them all in terms of being beloved. Don’t need a poll for that either.

Instead of, “get this guy off my team,” we got lip readers trying to decipher what was actually said. If you take a look and buy the clear consensus, it wasn’t much, just two guys posturing. Williams is going to take the floor for Memphis against Orlando in both Berlin and London, playing more minutes than he ordinarily would due to Morant’s absence.

pic.twitter.com/q8mK69tv9h
— Anthony Sain (@SainAsylum) January 15, 2026

Hopefully, we don’t see a situation where Morant has to fly home from overseas. That would be a horrible look for all. Still, phones work in Germany and England, so let’s hope progress is being made on that front and this divorce doesn’t consume the Grizzlies for a few more weeks. What Memphis is doing by continuing this weird dance of will-he-or-won’t-he suit up again when he’s practicing and receiving treatment for a hip contusion he’d likely be playing through if everything was normal, isn’t doing anyone any favors.

While in Europe, Morant will have his teammates’ back, as he has throughout the 21 games he’s missed for various reasons. He’ll continue to do his best to not answer questions about his future, which is all anyone wants to talk about. That makes him a rather surly ambassador for the NBA Berlin Game, the first regular-season contest held in Germany, and Sunday’s NBA London Game.

Morant criticism doing trade value no favors

There’s a limited market for Morant, but one exists. He’s a 26-year-old dynamic guard. Frankly, NBA observers sound like morons when they say he’s not as athletic as he used to be. He’s a career 31 percent 3-point shooter. That’s never been a strength, but his epic shooting slump to start the season is now being treated as what to expect going forward, when that’s not fair at all.

Players improve their shooting. Denver’s Peyton Watson shot less than 30 percent from 3-point range in his second season, his first in the Nuggets’ rotation. He’s now up over 40 and shooting 47.6 percent this month.

Russell Westbrook is someone whose elite athleticism eroded to just being great as he aged, and he was never a good shooter. No one was giving up on him at 26, even though he was mercilessly criticized. This isn’t anything new, which is why it’s incredibly lame to hear takes about Morant not being able to focus enough to play in Miami if that’s where he ends up.

Dru Star Scoop: Ja Morant purchased a $3.2 million home in Miami under a trust 3 weeks ago. pic.twitter.com/Lnqg1MUac1
— Dru (@dru_star) January 14, 2026

Speaking of which, he purchased a house there a few weeks ago. Guess what’s not going to happen? Outside of Williams, who seemingly asked Morant if he’s in or out, the two-time All-Star isn’t going to be questioned about his commitment even as he’s buying property in other cities. He’s never issued a trade demand. He’s the one being shopped.

The Grizzlies have been gauging interest in Morant, known in the business as due diligence, for quite some time. Now they’re actively interested in moving him, as they should, which means it’s fair game if he wants to purchase real estate elsewhere.

It also means the time to part ways is past due. Morant isn’t going to increase his trade value by coming back and suiting up for a few games prior to the Feb. 5 trade deadline. He scored 40 points on 16-for-22 shooting in what might end up being his last game in a home uniform at FedEx Forum on Dec. 30. His only action in 2026 to date produced 16 points, 11 assists, just three turnovers in a 7-for-18 shooting game against the Lakers.

Players with much more baggage who would consider that a strong performance have been moved in this league. Let’s hope the Grizzlies pull the plug on all of this before it becomes a distraction that sullies the team’s reputation among potential free agents down the road far more than it will Morant’s.

Simply put, in Memphis, Ja is wearing Teflon. He’ll get a standing ovation whenever he returns.

Morant criticism doing trade value no favors

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