Ja Morant trades gun for grenade, will keep celebration until it’s ‘a problem’

Ja Morant continues to land in the headlines for negative reasons.

Last week, the NBA handed down a $75,000 fine after Morant made multiple imaginary gun-aiming gestures on the court that were considered “inappropriate.” He was previously warned by the league office that this gesture could be interpreted in a negative light, and when Morant neglected the warnings, he received a punishment.

In fact, Morant doubled down, adopting a new celebration with another make-believe weapon: a grenade. He debuted it on Tuesday during the Memphis Grizzlies‘ 124-100 win over the Charlotte Hornets. After sinking a 3-pointer, Morant mimicked tossing an explosive into the stands and then covering his ears as one would to protect themselves from the explosion.

“That’s my celebration now until somebody else has a problem with it, and I’ll find another one,” Morant said Thursday after a Grizzlies’ shootaround.

When Morant says “somebody,” he’s referring to NBA commissioner Adam Silver and league officials that were responsible for issuing the previous warnings and fines. However, that’s not who Morant should be concerned with. His antics are becoming a problem for his team.

“This is who [Morant] is, where he just likes to toe the line,” Paul Pierce said Friday’s edition of “Speak“. “He’s leaning into who he is, but the thing is, we don’t want to make this a thing that we have to talk about in the locker room.

“It should be about basketball at this point.”

Keyshawn and Paul give advice to Ja Morant after grenade celebration

As the controversy around Morant continues, so do the Grizzlies’ struggles. Memphis has lost eight of its past 12 games and dropped from the second seed in the Western Conference to being tied for the seventh seed with the playoffs just around the corner. While some of that could be due to Memphis deciding to fire former head coach Taylor Jenkins and needing to adapt to a new system under current head coach Tuomas Iisalo, Morant hasn’t helped the situation.

“This is a team that’s got playoff aspirations, and it’s something new with him that’s not about basketball,” Pierce added. “As a leader of a team, as a guy who was once considered maybe the face of the NBA … he has to say, ‘You know what? It’s time for me to grow up a little bit and take on the responsibility of being a leader … a role model.'”

“There’s nothing wrong with being the villain,” Pierce added. “I consider myself a villain, but I did it in a different way. If he’s going to lean into [it], then so be it. Certain responsibilities come with being a hero and a villain. Some of those are being negatively criticized. If he’s willing to deal with those things and lean into it where it doesn’t get him in trouble with things off the court or things on the court, then that’s fine.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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