The NBA offseason is a time of free agency, trades and a whole lot of drama. Grizzlies star Ja Morant hasn’t been shy on Twitter since the season ended and on Sunday he addressed the back-and-forth he has been a part of with the Warriors.
After the Warriors won the championship, Klay Thompson said he was motivated by a Jaren Jackson tweet from the regular season following a Memphis win over Golden State. Jackson wrote “strength in numbers,” and Thompson said that rubbed him the wrong way. The quote is a slogan the Warriors use.
Morant responded to Thompson’s comments simply by saying “got a lot of real estate,” indicating he thought the Grizzlies were in the Warriors’ heads. During an interview with Taylor Rooks of Bleacher Report, Morant addressed the apparent friction.
“I just feel like if I won a championship I wouldn’t think about no other team or what somebody said months ago,” he said. “I’mma be celebrating that championship, I’mma be happy with my teammates. But as you see after they won the championship everything was Grizzlies playing “Whoop That Trick” on they parade, showing it in the club, talking about Jaren, this and that.
“I feel like when you win you can say anything, but I lost and I’mma still be Ja at the end of the day,” he continued. “Social media blew it up like is it a beef? Is it a rivalry? But no, like, those guys can tell you even after we lost in the series that I told them ‘It’s time for y’all to get another ring.’”
The Warriors defeated the Grizzlies in six games in the second round on their way to the title, their fourth in eight years. After Morant’s initial tweet, Green tweeted, “We traded that real estate in Ja Morant the property value was higher in Boston.”
When a fan suggested the Grizzlies and Warriors play on Christmas, Morant initially suggested it be in Memphis. However, Green said since the Warriors are the champions, they get to host. Morant seemed to agree.
“I’m coming to you then. Tell em book dat s--t I’m on yo block,” Morant responded.
Despite the perceived hostility, there doesn’t seem to be any true animosity from Morant.
