Memphis Grizzlies center Jaren Jackson was on Los Angeles Clippers small forward Paul George’s podcast and the NBA Defensive Player of the Year came to Ja Morant’s defense.
Morant has shown a gun on two IG Live videos since March.
“He’s I think just growing up with this much attention on you, especially being this young. It’s a lot to deal with,” Jackson said. “Dude’s great. People always gotta understand that everybody human. That’s my brother, though, no matter what. I stand by my brother and I think that’s the lesson everybody should take away from this.
“He works hard. He’s smart as hell. He should’ve been MVP the other year. The dude is high-level.”
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr & Memphis Grizzlies Updates
Morant could be headed for a “significant suspension,” according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN. The All-Star was only suspended for eight games after his March gun video.
“This is a situation that is wide-ranging,” Windhorst said on Get Up. “And quite frankly, the indication here is that this is gonna be a significant suspension.”
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr & Memphis Grizzlies Updates
Prior to Game 1 of the 2023 NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and Denver Nuggets, commissioner Adam Silver told reporters in Denver that he would wait to announce Morant’s suspension since he didn’t want to cause a distraction during the Finals.
“We’ve uncovered a fair amount of additional information I think since I was first asked about the situation,” Silver said. “I will say we probably could have brought it to a head now, but we made the decision, and I believe the players association agrees with us, that it would be unfair to these players and these teams in the middle of the series to announce the results of that investigation.
“Given that we’re of course in the offseason, he has now been suspended by the Memphis Grizzlies indefinitely, so nothing would have changed anyway in the next few weeks. It seemed better to park that at the moment, at least any public announcement, and my sense now is that shortly after the conclusion of the Finals we will announce the outcome of that investigation.”
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr & Memphis Grizzlies Updates
Morant signed a five-year, $194.3 million designated rookie contract extension with Memphis in July 2022. He averaged 26.2 points, 5.9 rebounds and 8.1 assists this season while shooting 46.6% from the field, 30.7% from beyond the arc and 74.8% from the free-throw line.
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