Memphis Grizzlies star guard Ja Morant made his return to the court earlier this week after serving a 25-game suspension for flashing firearms multiple times on Instagram.
Shortly after the suspension was handed to the 24-year-old star, many people in the basketball world, including former players Kevin Garnett, Tony Allen as well as ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, suggested Morant needs to surround himself with “the right people” in order to avoid similar issues in the future.
Tee Morant, the guard’s father, said earlier this week that there haven’t been any changes in the people surrounding Morant.
"We got the same circle. We got the same circle,” Tee Morant said to Sirius XM NBA Radio hosts Justin Termine and Eddie Johnson. “… It’s always funny that people want you to change your circle even if, like, he don’t have no killers around him. He’s got educated people around him. But everyone else thinks, ‘Okay, this person is this, this person is that.’ No! Everybody knows their task.
“It was a bad decision. But it wasn't a crime."
Justin: Did he make any changes in regards to the people in his inner circle?
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) December 21, 2023
Tee: We got the same circle
Tee Morant talks to @termineradio and @jumpshot8 about the treatment Ja has gotten in the media and how he’s handled things internally pic.twitter.com/VL8He1n6CF
Morant was required to fulfill a program that “directly addresses the circumstances that led him to repeat this destructive behavior” during his latest suspension. NBA commissioner Adam Silver recently said that Morant complied with everything the league asked of him during the lengthy suspension.
Morant picked up right where he left off in his return Tuesday, going off for 34 points on 12-of-24 shooting and knocking down the game-winning bucket as time expired in the Grizzlies’ 115–113 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans.
Memphis is 2–0 since Morant’s return after starting the season 6–19 without him.
