A former NBA All-Star called for Ja Morant to be traded from the Memphis Grizzlies, and it’s easy to draw parallels between the big man’s own public trade situation in 2017 and that of the 2019 No. 2 overall pick.
DeMarcus Cousins went on the “Run It Back” podcast on November 3 and voiced his opinion on the developing Morant debacle.
“It’s time to move on. This ship has sailed,” Cousins said. “The Grizzlies have made their decision as to who they’re siding with when they decided to suspend Ja Morant. This was a coaching staff that was brought in with a militant style of coaching. It doesn’t blend well with everybody, and it doesn’t blend well with modern basketball.”
The Grizzlies suspended Morant for one game on November 1 for “conduct detrimental to the team” after he appeared to criticize the coaching staff following a 117-112 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. He is now the subject of swirling trade rumors.
Ja Morant’s Struggles to Begin the Season
Morant played uninspired during the loss to the Lakers on October 31, scoring just eight points on 3-14 shooting from the field. When reporters asked about his performance after the game, he repeatedly deflected questions towards the coaching staff.
“Go ask the coaching staff why,” Morant said when asked whether he was lacking his usual energy. “According to them, don’t play me. That was the message after [the game].”
Morant is off to a difficult start to the 2025-26 season, his first full year playing for new Grizzlies head coach Tuomas Iiasalo. He’s averaging 20.8 points, 6.7 assists and 3.3 rebounds through six games, all below his season averages from 2024-25. Morant is also shooting just 15.6% from three.
Iiasalo was hired as the Grizzlies head coach after serving as the interim following the firing of Taylor Jenkins last season. He is a native of Finland and has most of his coaching experience from his time in Europe, where he was the head coach of Paris Basketball. Morant played for Jenkins for his first six seasons in the NBA.
DeMarcus Cousins’ Falling Out With Kings
Cousins has his own history of being traded from the team that drafted him after his relationship with the organization soured. He was suspended for one game by the NBA on February 7, 2017 when he was with the Sacramento Kings for accruing 16 technical fouls in just 50 games, which set the NBA record for earliest automatic suspension.
The Kings originally claimed Cousins would not be traded, but he was ultimately dealt to the New Orleans Pelicans on February 19, 2017. The organization cited concerns over giving Cousins a contract extension following his history of technical fouls as a motivating factor.
“It was time for a change and I decided this was the best direction for the organization,” Kings general manager Vlade Divac said in a team-issued statement. “Winning begins with culture and character matters.”
Cousins is clearly siding with Morant in this case, as he believes Memphis will be unable to maximize the guard’s skillset with its new coaching staff. His situation could be headed for a result similar to that of Cousins and the Kings.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Former NBA All-Star Wants Grizzlies to Trade Ja Morant appeared first on Heavy Sports.