Saturdays in the fall are usually reserved for College Football headlines across the board. However, the first Saturday in November had game 7 of the Major League Baseball World Series in Toronto, where the Grizzlies' next game is on Sunday night. While the Grizzlies' personnel attended the game ahead of their matchup with the Toronto Raptors, Ja Morant will miss the game after the team announced a one-game suspension for their star point guard.
ESPN's Shams Charania and Grizzlies PR released the report during the middle of the College football-dominated day following Morant's comments about the coaching staff during his postgame interview Friday night. A good portion of the Grizzlies' fan base wondered where Morant's accountability was following his interview, as most questioned his effort during the second half of their loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.
While "conduct detrimental to the team" was the language used to describe why he is suspended, Shams Charania elaborated more on the situation. He mentioned that tension from Morant had been festering about head coach Tuomas Iisalo's rotation patterns before a postgame interaction led to Iisalo calling out Morant's leadership and effort Friday night.
Morant's response to the interaction is what led to the suspension. Both sides hope to move forward past the situation, but what are the next steps towards reconciliation?
Morant needs to be open to criticism and Iisalo needs to listen to his stars
There are three sides to every story: two of the sides reside in each party's own interpretation, and the third side is the truth. With only six games played in the season, the instant reaction of thinking about a trade scenario is too early, but it is understandable why that reaction comes due to Morant's turbulent last three seasons with the team.
The real truth of the situation will only be known by the Grizzlies' locker room, but based on what was released to the public, a meeting between Morant and Iisalo should be the next course of action to resolve their differences. The Grizzlies' first-time head coach's minutes distribution has been questioned by fans this season, so Morant's frustration is warranted in that regard.
However, there are better methods for resolving those differences than what transpired on the court and to the media on Friday night by Morant. The Grizzlies are already short-handed four projected rotation players, including two point guards, before adding Ja Morant to that list for their game at the Raptors.
Differences happen between star players and their coaches all the time, but this situation is unique due to Iisalo's first official year on the job (coached final 15 games last season). Talking it out and figuring out a path forward to appease both sides in the middle is the best course of action moving forward at this time.