Outside of his 25-game suspension that will take place at the beginning of the 2023-24 campaign, Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant finds himself tied to a heap of off-court dilemmas, one of which has just recently received a new development.
On Wednesday, July 19, it was revealed that Davonte Pack, a longtime friend of the superstar guard, had officially been arrested by Tennessee law enforcement due to his involvement in a misdemeanor assault on teenager Joshua Holloway last summer.
#NEW: Ja Morant’s childhood friend, Davonte Pack, has been arrested on misdemeanor assault charges & booked into 201 Poplar.
— Joyce Peterson (@MemphoNewsLady) July 19, 2023
The charges stem from the tussle on the basketball court at Ja’s house last summer between Ja, Davonte and a teen now suing Ja over the incident. #memphis pic.twitter.com/kW6dHnpg7X
The event took place at Morant’s residency in Eads, which allegedly involved both Pack and Morant hitting the then 17-year-old during a pickup game.
While the Grizzlies’ guard would go on to claim self-defense regarding his involvement in the altercation, Pack has been on record stating that he “did not feel threatened” at the time of the discussed attack.
Both are involved in separate civil suits as a result.
Ja Morant is coming off an incredibly polarizing 2022-23 season where he saw some of the best efforts of his career be put forth on the hardwood and highly questionable decisions being made off of it.
Amid his fourth-year run in the association that saw him post stellar averages of 26.2 points, 8.1 assists, 5.9 rebounds, and 1.1 steals on 46.6 percent shooting from the field the two-time All-Star saw a two-week hiatus (partially due to suspension) following a league investigation regarding an Instagram Live video of him displaying what appeared to be a gun at a nightclub.
Two months later, he would once again be found holding what appeared to be a firearm on yet another Instagram Live video (though this time it was from Pack’s account), which, ultimately, resulted in his upcoming near two-month suspension.
To help try and address some of these poor decisions made by their franchise cornerstone, this summer the Grizzlies made an effort to add more savvy veteran leaders to the roster. They did so by trading for Marcus Smart, formerly of the Boston Celtics, and signing 2010-11 league MVP Derrick Rose, who knows a thing or two about overcoming sticky off-court situations himself.
Though all signs seem to suggest that both will be looking to bring much-needed mentorship to this young Memphis club and keep them focused, for Ja Morant, ultimately, these efforts made by the front office will only prove to be successful if he wants them to be.
As Grizzlies analyst and sideline reporter, Rob Fischer stated during a recent appearance on Bally Sports’ The Rally: “Ja’s got to want the help, Ja’s got to seek the help, Ja’s got to accept the help.”
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