Udonis Haslem Roasts Ja Morant for Dressing Like He Wasn’t Planning to Play

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Ja Morant, who is already ineligible for the All-NBA teams because he's missed so many games this season, sat out the Grizzlies game in Berlin against the Magic on Thursday. Morant has not played basketball since Jan. 2 because of a calf contusion, but he's remained in the news as the team has reportedly been considering a trade.
On Wednesday he was seen on the court having what looked like a heated conversation with a teammate, but despite that and the trade rumors, he was still on bench cheering his team on during their loss to the Magic.
The NBA hopes Morant can play when the two teams meet again in London over the weekend, but Amazon Prime's Udonis Haslem doesn't sound optimistic. During Thursday's NBA on Prime broadcast Haslem said, "When you travel with that much jewelry, you don't plan on playing."
UD kept it real about Ja 😅 pic.twitter.com/Ymyo8WiKte
— NBA on Prime (@NBAonPrime) January 16, 2026
It's an interesting comment for Haslem, who in addition to covering games for Prime, is the vice president of basketball development for the Heat, one of the teams that has been identified as a possible landing spot for Morant.
When Morant has played this season, he's averaged 19 points and 7.6 assists per game. The Grizzlies are 6-12 in those games.
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Stephen Douglas is a senior writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has worked in media since 2008 and now casts a wide net with coverage across all sports. Douglas spent more than a decade with The Big Lead and previously wrote for Uproxx and The Sporting News. He has three children, two degrees and one now unverified Twitter account.
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