'Lone' Ja Morant drops cryptic message amid Grizzlies' attempt to retool roster: "Mentally & physically I stay far away"

As the offseason progresses, Ja Morant has seen teammates come and go as the Memphis Grizzlies tweak their roster. Morant himself, however, appears to have detached himself from all these player movements in his ball club.

In a pair of tweets on Friday, the two-time All-Star made it clear that he was not dipping his toes into the Grizzlies' attempt to retool their roster.

"popular loner fr," Morant posted on X. He added, "so mentally & physically i stay far away."

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One player who will be far away from Morant once the 2025-26 season begins is Desmond Bane, who spent five years alongside him in the Grizzlies backcourt. In one of the first high-profile transactions of this offseason was Bane being shipped to the Orlando Magic for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Cole Anthony, and a stash of draft assets.

Gone, too, is Morant's backup point guard Luke Kennard, who has signed in free agency with the Atlanta Hawks. Meanwhile, the Grizzlies have added former Cleveland Cavaliers guard Ty Jerome, who has reportedly agreed to a three-year deal.

Along with Dillon Brooks' move to the Houston Rockets in 2023, these roster moves have significantly altered the lineup that Morant played with as the Grizzlies made three straight playoff trips at the start of the decade. Even Taylor Jenkins, the head coach who had watched over Morant since he was a rookie, was let go late in the regular season and replaced by Tuomas Iisalo.

Though Morant will still have the re-signing Jaren Jackson Jr. by his side. the lineup that Memphis will be fielding next season will be quite different from what he's played with in years past. It should come as no surprise, then, that Morant is feeling like a "loner" these days.

"yukix12 dont die," Ja Morant tweets his farewell to former teammate

This past season, Morant grew close to Japanese spitfire guard Yuki Kawamura. Recently, Kawamura made the decision to sign with the Chicago Bulls' Summer League team, which meant that Morant had one more former teammate to say goodbye to.

The former All-Star did so with another short but sweet post on X.

"yukix12 dont die," Morant tweeted.

Morant, will have more than three months to form new friendships and jell with his teammates before the 2025-26 season tips off.

About the author

Simoun Victor Redoblado is an NBA and WNBA journalist at Sportskeeda with over 12 years of experience writing for publications such as Collider, ALL-STAR Magazine, and Sir Charles in Charge.

Simoun has a bachelor's degree in Secondary Education, Major in English and Minor in journalism. Thanks to the journalism courses that he took, Simoun understood the fundamentals of journalistic storytelling in the context of sports writing.

Passionate for the UP Fighting Maroons, Simoun is a fan of the NBA, PBA, UAAP, and FIBA.
His childhood team was the Chicago Bulls and Simoun was a longtime supporter of the Houston Rockets because his friends would say he looked like Yao Ming.

Simoun loves the systematic, tactical movement of the ball and the players, the stories behind each individual competing on the hardcourt and most of all, how basketball is a sport for life and all its struggles and lessons.

A father of two, Simoun spends his free time with his kids.

Know More

Grizzlies Nation! You can check out the latest Memphis Grizzlies Schedule and dive into the Grizzlies Depth Chart for NBA Season 2024-25.

Edited by Simoun Victor Redoblado