Herrington: Did Ja Morant’s London showcase move the trade market, or shift Grizzlies interest in moving him?
Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant (12) looks to make a play during the second half of Sunday’s NBA international against the Orlando Magic in London. (Kin Cheung/AP)
Chris Herrington
Chris Herrington has covered the Memphis Grizzlies, in one way or another, since the franchise’s second season in Memphis, while also writing about music, movies, food and civic life. As far as he knows, he’s the only member of the Professional Basketball Writers Association who is also a member of a film critics group and has also voted in national music critic polls for Rolling Stone and the Village Voice (RIP). He and his wife have two kids and, for reasons that sometimes elude him, three dogs.
The Memphis Grizzlies went to Berlin and London for NBA Global Games and what the world stage witnessed was a microcosm of the recent day-to-day Ja Morant experience.
There was a missed game under murky circumstances. A testy press availability. Mixed moods on display in public settings. And, finally, another reminder of what a fabulous basketball player Morant remains to be when his body allows and his mood doesn’t impede.
On Sunday in London, Morant had 20 points and 10 assists by halftime. If his second half was less prodigious, it was still effective, especially in holding off an Orlando Magic comeback, to which the Grizzlies had succumbed two days earlier in Berlin.
Morant’s final stint included an in-bounds steal the team converted into a score and a fadeaway door-closer he capped with a dance. Then Morant did a walkoff broadcast interview in which he said of the experience, “I needed it.” He talked about feeling the love of the English fans and how the experience “refreshed” him.
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