Memphis Grizzlies superstar guard Ja Morant has made a big change. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Morant has parted ways with his longtime agent, Jim Tanner.
Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant and his longtime agent Jim Tanner have parted ways, sources tell ESPN. Tanner had represented Morant since coming out of Murray State as the No. 2 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 3, 2024
Tanner has represented the 24-year-old since he came out of Murray State and became the number two overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. However, he won’t be representing him any longer.
Morant has dealt with his fair share of personal challenges in the past year-plus. Before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury, Morant was suspended for the first 25 games of the season due to flashing a gun on Instagram Live a second time in May 2023.
Don Juan Moore/Getty Images
The first time he flashed a gun was in March 2023, inside a Denver area nightclub. He went live on Instagram, was caught, and later apologized and received a team-issued suspension where he missed five games. The NBA later issued its own suspension of eight games without pay for “conduct detrimental to the league.”
It’s been quite the ride for Morant on and off the court. Regardless, he is among the rising stars in this league, and he showed it in his brief stint this season.
The Grizzlies seemed to be on the right track when he returned from suspension in December. The team went 6-3 in nine games he played in. He averaged 25.1 points, 8.1 assists, and 5.6 rebounds in those games. Morant made his presence felt immediately when he hit a game-winner in his return against the New Orleans Pelicans.
Unfortunately, it was cut short, and the Grizzlies season went down the drain from that point on.
The 24-year-old has already accomplished a lot in his five-year career. He is a two-time All-Star, All-NBA Second Teamer, 2022 NBA Most Improved Player, 2020 Rookie of the Year, and was on the NBA All-Rookie First Team. In the 2022 and 2023 seasons, he led his team to back-to-back top-three finishes in the Western Conference. While they failed to make it to the Western Conference Finals in both seasons, it was clear he and the Grizzlies would be threats moving forward.
Hopefully, Morant has turned a new leaf, and this move may be a sign of that. He’s a great player in this league as he’s one of the most explosive and twitchiest players in the NBA today.
He just hasn’t been able to keep the off-court issues away, and injuries haven’t helped either. Morant signed a five-year, $197.2 million extension with the Grizzlies in 2022, and that deal kicked in this season.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.