Carmelo Anthony reacts to the JA MORANT situation and says HEAT or BUCKS would be best fit

Carmelo Anthony reacts to the JA MORANT situation and says HEAT or BUCKS would be best fit

This is 7 PM postgame coming to y’all Wednesday and Thursday nights right after the games. We’re tapping on what’s happening around the league, react to what went down the night before, and hit on topics that are bubbling across NBA. Tonight, we got to talk about what’s going on in Memphis and with superstar point guard John Morant. One of the most electrifying players in the entire league, is at the center of a real crossroads moment for the Memphis Grizzlies. He was suspended one game for conduct detrimental to the team after publicly questioning the coaching staff following the loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. Coming back from that suspension, you can still sense there was a little bit of friction between the Grizzlies and J Melo. You know exactly what it’s like to be a franchise player that hits that moment where things gets a little tense between yourself and the rest of the team. Drawing on your experience from Denver and New York and different situations throughout your career, uh, if J reached out to you directly for advice, what would you tell him? For one, I would tell him, we ain’t got time to be sulking and we ain’t got time to be, you know what I mean? We we don’t have time to be in our feelings. Mhm. Like the train is still going. As you can see, they suspend you. The game still go on. The season still goes on. Like they’re not going to let you get their train [ __ ] they train up anymore, right? We let you We let you [ __ ] your train up, right? We ain’t going to let you [ __ ] our train up. So, it’s a real unfortunate situation to be in. Yeah. Right. The situation and again, I don’t know the situation. I just know what I know about the situation from what I see. You can see it as a as a player. You see it, you know what I mean? You see the different bounce that J got. You see the how he moving. You see the like that it factor. You don’t see that right now. Mhm. Because it’s it’s you in this lost environment. You’re in this lost environment here. They [ __ ] with you. The team [ __ ] with you. The coach [ __ ] with you. It’s a power struggle now because you had the power and now they trying to take back the power. This is a prime example. When when they ready to take back the power, I’ve always said this, they will take back the power. Mhm. Right. It’s it’s it’s a [ __ ] up situation because Yeah. When you go through it, you see it unfolding so vividly and clearly that it’s like, nah, nah, nah, don’t let this have it. No, please don’t let allow this cuz you just see it about to you see it about to happen. You see it about to get ugly with the with the with the with the relationship, right? So, it’s like hearing trade rumors, people monitoring. You know how hard it is. You know how hard it is to go to work and and some people want you there and other people don’t want you there. I’m sure people go through this every day in life, right? This ain’t nothing new. But when you in a basketball environment, when you when you’re in a sporting a sporting environment, not even a spotlight, when you’re in a team environment, Mhm. and you know, coaches don’t want you there. You know, front office don’t want you there, but they can’t do nothing about it right now. Uh, that’s a hard situation to be a part of. How can I come perform, right? How can I come perform when y’all don’t even want me here? Anything I do that’s if any turnover I get from here on out. Oh, there you go. Yeah, there you go. Any body language that’s off. Oh, there you go. So, you almost got to be perfect in the sense. Now, a lot of this [ __ ] I would say job bought on himself. A little self-inflicted, right? It’s self-inflicted. like let’s it’s time for him to look himself in the mirror and be like, “All right, my [ __ ] What you What we going to do?” Mhm. What we going to do? Because I see what’s happening. I see the throne. I see the stones being thrown. I see the darts. I see I’m I’m and I’m I’m I’m feeling those darts. Like I’m feeling the pain that’s that’s coming from this game. You can see it in J. His bounce ain’t the same. His aura ain’t the same. Yeah. The giddy ain’t the same. The 12 ain’t the same. Like it ain’t nothing is the same. He’s he’s playing I’m sure players who are playing against him that’s out there is like nah that yo you see J that ain’t J bro like that something is so if the players said that something is going on my thing would be why you in it you still you still a part of it right you still J it’s still your team now what they try to tell you is it’s only so long that this is going to be your team. Okay, granted, I get that, but I still got to go out there and perform. I still got to go be John Moran. I still got to go be that person, right? I still got to sell tickets. I still And you can say, “I don’t care about all of that.” And maybe rightfully so. You just want to go hoop. But go hoop down. Go hoop. [ __ ] all the [ __ ] Go hoop, man. It’s a It’s a And if you don’t want to be there, Yeah. Just learn from everybody else’s mistakes that came way before you. Go have a real conversation with the organization. Have your representation. Go have a real conversation and say, “Look, let’s let’s figure this out.” You know what I think? I think low key it might have happened already. I think low key job probably obviously it probably hasn’t been made public yet or anything like that but I think everybody could kind of see the writings on the wall where it’s like maybe he just needs a better change of scenery and maybe the Memphis Grizzlies just need to start off start a new with a world without John it’s I mean I I listen I I’m a big John Moran fan. I think he’s one of the most entertaining basketball players to play obviously, but we’ve seen it in so many instances where we knew Ja had to be, and it’s not like he did anything so like reprehensible, but from what he’s already came back from, he had to be a model citizen every single time. No, that’s not that’s not that’s not and and and that’s the pressure that people would put on him. But you don’t have to be a model citizen. You just live be you. I mean I mean he had to be a model citizen to avoid any of this talk happening. I’m not saying like I don’t want to be confused with the other stuff that you be you. Go to work. Do what you got to do. Work with your craft. Be you. Nobody tell you not to be you. Yeah. Just go be yourself. But this is what we going to do over here. We need this from you. And and from a basketball standpoint, it’s a it’s a situation where again this is from my perspective. This is what I see. It’s a situation where they want to try to change the offense. We we’re in this we’re in this this world of changing the systems now, right? Mhm. Okay. What’s the what’s what’s the what’s the new system that everybody want to do today? Pace and space. Pace and space. Get off the ball, play second side. You know what I mean? Put a put a put a really good second side uh shooter player who can go over there and and catch off the second side and rip. He can shoot. he can get to like get him off the ball. Nicks is doing that with Jaylen Brunson, right? Putting Jaylen Brunson as a second side hooper who can hook and attack. When you say second side, what? Explain that for people. Second side. You come down strong side, you swing it to the second side, which is okay. The opposite side, right? You get it to the second side. Now you always and you supposed to have somebody on that second side that can go boogie as well, too. Yeah. You want to make that defense rotate. That’s more I’ll catch you on a rotation. I’ll catch you on the close out. I can rip. I can go. I can I can I can make a play out of that. Okay. So now they taking J off the ball. J never plays off the ball. How can you tell J Mor to play off the ball? No, that’s not my game. So now what he’s doing, he’s getting rid of the ball and he’s going where? Going to the corner just to say I’m playing off the ball. Right. And that’s the body language that that people are seeing. Yeah. And then it’s like, “No, don’t. You got to go talk to coach. I’m doing my job. I’m told to get off the ball. I’m told to play off the ball. I’m doing my job. You want me to get off the ball?” When Bane was here, which is cool. We We Bane can play in the pick and roll. Great. But now Bane is in Orlando and going. You mean to tell me I still got to play off the off the ball? Nah. Nah. Mhm. No. All right. Well, if if it’s real, though. It’s it’s real. So, it’s a basketball aspect of it. Okay. Right. Of of them trying to find different ways to make the offense flow or make the team go without John taking on a heavy workload every single night. Cool. That’s understandable. Then it’s the situation where John don’t know is not used to playing off the ball. He don’t want to play off the ball. He may cannot play off the ball. So that’s another, you know, he trying to figure that out. Trying to figure himself out in that system. Then it’s just, man, you guys don’t really want me here anyway. You guys, you know, I’m probably hearing y’all want to trade me. I’m, you know, I’m hearing some [ __ ] I vouched for the coach. This is what he vouched for the coach. He did. He vouched for that coach. You know what I mean? Like he vouched for the coach. I I want it to feel like it’s a basketball situation, but when you suspend a guy for one game, that mean you off it. That mean you you that mean you have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to John R. Okay. I’m I’m off of it. Enough is enough. Your body language says it all. Right. That’s what that mean. And the other time they want to spend J off of no [ __ ] like that. You ain’t suspending J off of that. Right. I mean, now, yeah, John, you spending one game. So, you want to play this game, we going to play this game with you, too. I I can’t help but think, and I’m going to get to the the Trey question after, I just can’t help but think that if the other stuff that preceded this moment didn’t happen, Josh saying what he said does not get him a oneame suspension. I think it’s got to be like, oh, another thing. That’s what I’m trying to say. It’s a zero tolerance policy with J. And he don’t understand that, right? I’m not saying you got to walk a straight line. I’m not saying just be aware. Yo, these [ __ ] really ain’t [ __ ] with me like that. They’re not playing with you. You know what I mean? Like they really ain’t [ __ ] with me like that. Okay, let me I know that. Let me play the game back with them. That’s the power. I’mma play your game with you. Oh. All right. Bet. Whatever you do, whatever you tell me to do, I’mma go do it. I’mma show you that I can do it. All right. You want to go shoot threes? I’m show you. I’mma show you I can sit in the corner and shoot threes. All right. Let’s play Let’s play the hypothetical. Let’s play Let’s play a little hypothetical game here, then. Let’s just say let’s say the rumors if the situation’s beyond repair. They’re just like, if J wants a fresh start, Memphis wants a fresh start, they need a fresh start. the Rockets, the Heat, the Celtics, the Mavericks, the Kings. They’ve all been mentioned as teams that have either monitor monitor situations, potential landing spots, players that need point guards. Let’s break down John Moran’s fit with each team. Now, obviously, a lot of these teams are going to have to give to get, but a lot of these teams definitely either need a point guard or need a little bit of a star power punch, right? So, the Rockets, great as they are, no point guard. The Heat, no point guard. The Celtics, no Jason Tatum, no real guard there. The Mavericks, Kyrie situation. I think the Kings could be the situation. Is there a fit that you believe if Memphis is not the place for John to finish to continue his career that you believe fits best for him and the way he plays? This is not about basketball though. Let’s just let’s make it go with your hypothetical, but this is really not B. You got to take that into consideration. This is not about basketball with John now. This is holding him accountable as a as a man, as a professional. This is has nothing to do with basketball right now. Nothing. This is holding his ass accountable for whatever, right? John need culture. He need a culture. He need to go to a culture. He created the culture in Memphis. Right. Zebo and those guys, they had one culture, right? J in this time got another culture, right? He created that. He need to go somewhere that is already centered around culture and and and and and hard work and and discipline. I think I know where you’re leaning towards. I’m not mad at him in Miami. Yeah. Right. Yeah. You seem like a Pat Raleigh guy. Like Pat going to let you do you be you, but you also got to be professional, right? Cool. Granted, you got that. Where else? I mean, the Rockets seem like obviously they need a point guard, but I feel like they already gave up so much to get Katie. I don’t think that’s coming back off of it. Back. You know what I mean? Celtics. I don’t think there’s anybody you could realistically get without, you know, breaking up one of the big guys that you got in Tatum’s hurt. The Mavericks, I don’t think that’s realistic either. I think the Kings possibly Milwaukee. Milwaukee possibly. Yeah. You know, but in Milwaukee, you will have somebody else there who can hold you accountable and Giannis. And you going to also have somebody else there who going to show you from his way the work ethic. I’m not, you know, job works, but it’s now when you get around somebody else who got a a work ethic like that, it only inspires you. It only motivates you to to want to be at that level with him. Right. Right. Right. So he need he need help in a sense of a community on a team, not help outside. He need help amongst the people that’s basketball in the locker rooms. He you know you this is where vets come in at. This is why there’s no vets. There’s no people in there who can yo I got you but I’m I’mma tell you what the [ __ ] is going on but I I got you too n don’t do that. Yo come on. When he’s standing up on the sideline like that [ __ ] come on man. Come on. Get out. Yo y get in the [ __ ] huddle [ __ ] Come on. Let’s go. We’ll deal with that [ __ ] later. That’s the type of [ __ ] he needs. Somebody who he respects. And that’s what a lot of these guys is missing out there today. That’s not disrespectful. That’s not disrespecting you. That’s Cass. Come on, [ __ ] Come on, man. We ain’t got time for that [ __ ] right now. We’ll deal with that [ __ ] in in halftime or after the game. Mhm. Mhm. Like, but right now, [ __ ] I need you. We need you. You think Giannis and John good fit basketball-wise, or you just think he’s a great player, Giannis a great player, they’ll figure it out basketball-wise. Forget all the other stuff. You need somebody who who can who can play in that that that that pick and roll with Giannis, right? And if you’re coming off of the that you need somebody who’s getting downhill in Milwaukee, right? Right. Who could pass and shoot but could also go get it themselves, which is why they love Dame, you know, at first. Mhm. It’s why the the idea of Dame going there was, okay, if we can get this to work with Dame and Giannis, oh [ __ ] All right. Giannis is missing that. And if you’re in Milwaukee, you still trying to you still trying to sell Giannis on staying. You still trying to do everything you can to be like, “Yo, we getting you everything we can get you.” You know what I’m saying? Like finding a way to get John Moran over there definitely speaks a lot to be like, “All right, like we’re in the” And it’s not like the Bucks are doing bad right now. The Bucks look No, we just talking about places that that I think could be a good fit for him. For sure. I hope I hope they figure it out in Memphis, though. Man, I hate I hate to you know, you got to Doc Rivers is a strong black man over there. You know what I mean? Doc could be able to, you know, Doc got sons and [ __ ] and you know, Doc been around it. Doctor been around [ __ ] like him. Mhm. Yeah. You know, John’s a good [ __ ] Like he’s a good guy. Like he’s a good guy. But when you feel like that weight on your shoulders, man, you feel like your back is against the wall. That’s what I think. And you feel like everybody is against you. It’s best for everybody at that point. just like, you know what? I don’t even I don’t even want you to I don’t even want the people in the front office to even have the responsibility. Yeah. It take a lot to come up out of that kid. I’m feeling that, you know. Damn. So, I just, you know, I just hope that he’s willing to put the work in to get up out of that because that switch is hard to turn, you know, turn off and then turn back on. Yeah. Yeah. I think you will, man. I hope we’ll figure it out. Ah, that was a great talk, man. J, we hope you do well, brother. Wherever you wherever you end up, Memphis or elsewhere, it should be good. They talking about moving Memphis, man. You know what I mean? Talking about They might go to Vegas. I heard they talking about moving New Orleans. Like a [ __ ] man. Vegas and Seattle. New and New was it Mexico City, too. I heard that’s another city that might be happening, but we’ll see. We’ll see how it goes. Uh, this once again has been the 700 p.m. post game, part of 7 p.m. in Brooklyn. A Wave original presented by FanDuel. Uh, and you know what to do as always, man. Subscribe to our YouTube page, hit the button, podcast channels, all that. If you see us anywhere, Tik Tok, Instagram, X, Threads, whatever, like, rate, review, leave a comment, engage with us. I’m in the comments, Mel’s in the comments. It helps the show. It’s all good, baby. You know what time it is. Like we always do with it, Tom. Make sure you tune in for the brand new episode. Keep me out of it. It’s 700 p.m. in Brooklyn, dropping this Monday, people. Until then, for the Hall of Famer of Carmelo Anthony, I’m Cass. Peace. Peace. [Music]

Carmelo Anthony and Kazeem Famuyide keep it real about the Ja Morant situation and what a possible trade could mean for his career. Melo talks about what Ja needs to focus on moving forward and why the Miami Heat or Milwaukee Bucks could be the best fit if the end is near in Memphis. The two also discuss maturity, leadership, and how the right environment can bring out the best in elite talent.
#CarmeloAnthony #JaMorant #MilwaukeeBucks #MiamiHeat #NBA #7PMinBrooklyn
.
.
.
New episodes drop every Monday.

Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts, and follow the show on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok for all the best moments from the show.

Download the full podcast here:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4sEy5p87mJ002F3NGsKIpq

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/7pm-in-brooklyn-with-carmelo-anthony/id1719570183

Amazon: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/6f088d77-2522-4c50-8d49-2792070534c8/7pm-in-brooklyn-with-carmelo-anthony

Follow 7PM in Brooklyn on Social Media: https://lnk.to/7PMInBrooklyn