ESPN hits Grizzlies superstar Ja Morant with new-found level of disrespect

Memphis Grizzlies superstar Ja Morant continues to find his name being dragged through the mud.

While it's undeniable that the point guard has made some poor decisions and has suffered from a few nagging injuries throughout his five-year professional career, conversely, it's also an inarguable fact that during this same period, Morant has proven himself to be one of the best talents the league has to offer.

Still, as is the case with modern-day media outlets, talk concerning the Grizzlies stud seems to generally focus on negative talking points.

A new primary example of this came on August 20 during the latest episode of The Hoop Collective podcast, where host Brian Windhorst and his ESPN cohorts, Tim Bontemps and Tim MacMahon, were seen taking part in an exercise with the objective being to draft the best players currently in the association that they would like to start a franchise with.

Within the activity, there were several no-brainer names discussed and, ultimately, selected, with the likes of Victor Wembanyama, Luka Doncic, and Nikola Jokic rounding out the first three picks, respectively.

Quite honestly, none of the 10 total players taken during the 36-minute segment were necessarily surprising to see. However, Morant's omission from the process was truly disparaging, and the reasons given for said exclusion were both weak and, in many ways, somewhat hypocritical.

Grizzlies star Ja Morant omitted from ESPN's franchise cornerstone draft

The key word often mentioned among the pundits when it came to their decision to leave the Grizzlies star off the board was "dependability," as they voiced their concerns regarding his struggles to remain on the floor throughout his NBA tenure.

Though this is certainly a fair point made, especially when the goal of their draft is to nab a franchise cornerstone, how do they then find themselves selecting individuals such as Luka Doncic and Joel Embiid, who have also shown themselves to be rather unreliable at times when it comes to being available for their teams, particularly the latter who has played in 60 or more games just four times throughout his decade-long career and has seen sub-40 games four times?

Is it because of their respective talents and impacts on their ball clubs when found on the floor? If this is the case, then there's no doubt these players should be talked about on the list, though how come this same qualification doesn't also cancel out Morant's lacking "dependability" as well?

Have people forgotten that the 25-year-old -- younger than all but two of the players drafted in the activity, mind you! -- has led the Grizzlies to either a Play-In Tournament or playoff berth in every season outside of the gap-year 2023-24 campaign? Such a success rate is higher than Doncic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Victor Wembanyama's, all of whom were drafted over Ja.

On top of this, during his last two full campaigns, he spearheaded the charge toward back-to-back 50-plus win seasons and two second-seed finishes in the Western Conference standings.

If this isn't notable enough, then perhaps some might need to be reminded of the fact that Morant boasts tremendous career averages of 22.5 points, 7.4 assists, and 4.8 rebounds on 47.2 percent shooting from the field while earning a Rookie of the Year and Most Improved Player award, two All-Star nods, an All-NBA selection, and finished as high as seven in the running for league MVP throughout his five seasons of action.

Despite the sheer disappointment, heartaches, and headaches that came with last season's 27-55 turnout, perhaps the biggest takeaway from their latest campaign was just how valuable Morant is to this Grizzlies team.

Without him in tow, they came across just 18 wins, whereas they went 6-3 following his 25-game suspension and saw their largest win streak of the season (four-straight) while dropping 25.1 points, 8.1 assists, and 5.6 rebounds during the nine games he played from December 19 through January 5 before going down for the remainder of the season after undergoing right shoulder surgery.

There's no denying that Morant has had his fair share of follies over the years, but his actions and non-serious but, rather, nagging injuries should not excommunicate him from being mentioned in the conversations regarding the NBA's elite players.

Heading into 2024-25, many, including Bontemps himself, have mentioned that they believe the Grizzlies are in line for a bounce-back season. Should they find themselves amid a playoff excursion with Morant serving as the driving force on such a journey, there's no reason to believe that he won't be back in the good graces of fans and media personalities worldwide.

And while his return to the conversation of the league's best players will certainly bring satisfaction to Grind City nation, seeing the point guard continuously be disrespected such as he was yet again during the ESPN-backed podcast is enough to drive any fan mad.

Hopefully Morant is keeping notes and using it as fuel heading into his redemption run.