Kendrick Perkins Thinks It's Time For Ja Morant To Leave Memphis

While it seems that everyone is talking about Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant's current gun situation, some are also offering their advice.

Former NBA player and current sports analyst Kendrick Perkins feels a change of scenery could help the 23-year-old Grizzlies player to get back on the right path.

During an episode of "First Take" on ESPN, Perkins told hosts Stephen A. Smith and Molly Qerim, along with JJ Redick, that if Morant can't change, he needs to leave Memphis.

"I believe he's still gonna be in the league for a very, very, very long time," Perkins said.

"But if another incident like this happens, and the way that this has transpired back-to-back incidents, I'm ready to say right now that I think Ja Morant, it might be best for him to actually get out of Memphis and go to a different organization for his own well-being."

Perkins then briefly explained the culture in Memphis and that he thinks it's not good for Morant. He believes the Grizzlies star would do better in another city on a different team so he can "lock in on the game of basketball."

Smith then jumped in to talk about how NBA Commissioner Adam Silver used the word "uncovered" during his statement on Thursday night about the outcome of the league's investigation.

"Adam Silver was clearly saying, 'We've learned more than we knew before,'" Smith said. "Now what that is, we don't know. But we do know, A. it's a problem and B. it's a bigger problem for Ja Morant. So, it begs the question what's an appropriate punishment and stuff like that."

Smith said that some people feel Morant should be suspended for an entire season, and others feel at least half the season. Smith doesn't agree with any of that.

"I do think 25 games is about right. And let's understand the biggest reason why it would be about right," he continued.

"One part is the transgression. The other part is, even though it broke no laws, as JJ Redick pointed out weeks ago, it was in violation of no laws. Ja Morant didn't break any laws and he didn't harm anybody, but you're representing the NBA brand and there's a responsibility that comes along with it."

"First Take" and SportsCenter both shared the Instagram clip of Perkins talking about Morant possibly benefitting from a trade to another team. Fans dropped into the comments to either agree with that thought or explain why they feel that's not a solution.

"So you blame the team itself not the individual committing the act multiple times over. Makes sense," one person wrote. Another added, "It’s the person, not the location."

One fan took the other side of the argument and sided with Perkins thoughts.

"This is actually a good take. Everyone who thinks Perk is blaming the Grizzlies, are just not listening. The city of Memphis is a bad influence on Ja. Put him in a city like Utah and his surrounding influence changes, thus changing him."

Another fan also sided with Perkins. "To the clueless…he’s implying that the city itself is a bad environment for Ja. If you never been to Memphis then you wouldn’t understand. I actually agree with @kendrickperkins on this one."

One fan somewhat agreed with Perkins, saying, "I mean a change of scenery does help, but atp it's on him... it's not that hard to just not wave it around on an IG live. 😭"

During a press conference before the start of Game 1 of the 2023 NBA Finals between the Denver Nuggets and Miami Heat on Thursday night, Silver revealed that the league has concluded their investigation into Morant's second Instagram Live that occurred in mid-May.

"In assessing what discipline is appropriate, if that’s the case, we look at both the history of prior acts, but then we look at the individual player’s history as well. And the seriousness of course, of the conduct, so those are all the things that get factored," he said.

"It’s not an exact science. It comes down to judgement at the end of the day on the part of me and my colleagues in the league office."

Silver continued to reveal that the investigation "uncovered a fair amount of additional information," and while they could have "brought it to a head now," they decided not to take any attention away from the Finals.

"And given that we’re of course in the off season he’s now been suspended by the Memphis Grizzlies indefinitely, so nothing would have changed anyway for the next few weeks," Silver continued.

"It seemed better to park that at the moment, at least any public announcement and my sense now is that shortly after the conclusion of the finals we will announce the outcome of that investigation."