After being eliminated in the first round of the 2024-25 NBA playoffs, the Grizzlies made a drastic change to their roster by trading away Desmond Bane to the Orlando Magic in return for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Cole Anthony, multiple future draft picks, and a pick swap.
Although this trade helped the Magic get closer to contending for a title while giving the Grizzlies several assets in return, the coverage of this trade amid the 2025 NBA Finals frustrated Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant, who did not mince his words when responding to a comment made by Stephen A. Smith.
Ja Morant Attacks Stephen A. Smith for ‘Convoluted’ Take on Memphis
As soon as news broke that Bane had been traded away, Smith and other members of the media began debating Morant’s future with the team, wondering if he could request a trade as the Grizzlies appear to enter a rebuilding state. Morant took to social media to dismiss these claims and also criticized Smith for his “convoluted” explanation of why stars across the league don’t want to play for the Grizzlies.
“You gonna tell folks why nobody wants to be in Memphis? Or you want me to do it? … The people in Memphis, it’s a great sports town, great fans, great people. But there’s an element there where cats like Jimmy Butler III and others don’t feel like it’s the safest environment. I’m talking to the local authorities in Memphis. You gotta clean some of that stuff up because they’ve talked about it,” said Smith.
“You gonna tell folks why nobody wants to be in Memphis? Or you want me to do it? … Cats like Jimmy Butler and others don’t feel like it’s the safest environment. I’m talking to the local authorities in Memphis.”
Stephen A. Smith on the Grizzlies.pic.twitter.com/GAFNIGnYpW
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) June 17, 2025
Smith also attempted to validate his point by claiming that players had personally told him this. However, fans were unwilling to give his statement any weight and were quick to point out that several cities with NBA teams have much higher crime rates, arguing against Smith’s claims.
Morant was unwilling to let Smith get away with taking shots at his city and sent out a curt tweet, “instead of focusing on the performances we seen from jdub/shai , tj/siakam, how this series is going . we say sumn negative about a city/team on a national level.”
instead of focusing on the performances we seen from jdub/shai , tj/siakam, how this series is going . we say sumn negative about a city/team on a national level.
— Ja Morant (@JaMorant) June 17, 2025
Morant is arguing that attention should be given to the stars in the NBA Finals, like Jalen Williams, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, T.J. McConnell, and Pascal Siakam, rather than focusing on him and the Grizzlies while taking shots at the city of Memphis.
“Talkin bout the grizz more than the finals wit these [fake] sources,” Morant added.
talkin bout the grizz more than the finals😂 wit these 🧢 ahh sources
— Ja Morant (@JaMorant) June 17, 2025
Morant took issue with Smith’s claims and statements he made, speaking up against the media, furthering a trend of pushing back against the media that has been prevalent among players in recent years, especially this past season with LeBron James’ saga with Smith.
