The Memphis Grizzlies have suspended Ja Morant for one game due to conduct detrimental to the team. This suspension follows an incident where Morant questioned the leadership of coach Tuomas Iliaso after a 117-112 defeat to the Los Angeles Lakers. His comments during the postgame press conference directed at the coaching staff added to the controversy.

Morant is set to miss the upcoming game against the Toronto Raptors, resulting in a loss of $272,042 from his salary. This comes after a lackluster performance where he scored eight points and had seven assists with a field goal percentage of 21.4%.

In response to queries about his game, Morant told the media to ‘go ask the coaching staff.’ He further commented on the game’s outcome, suggesting that ‘according to them, probably don’t play me’ was implied.

Ja Morant when asked questions from the media: “Go ask the coaching staff.” “According to them, probably don’t play me.”

🎥 @50NuancesDeNBA — Hoop Central November 1, 2025

The lack of effort from Morant raised eyebrows, with Blake Griffin commenting on his performance during an Amazon broadcast, highlighting Morant’s disengagement as a concern for fans.

The Grizzlies made a significant coaching change at the end of last season, replacing Taylor Jenkins with Iliaso. This move came after a strategy shift away from Morant’s style of play. Following recent team decisions, including trading Desmond Bane, the expectations for Morant were high as he was seen as a key player in the offense. However, tensions between him and the coaching staff appear to be increasing as the season progresses.

Although the Grizzlies stand at 3-3 currently, all their victories have been against weaker competition, raising concerns about the team’s performance against playoff-caliber opponents. The discord between Morant and Iliaso’s staff may pose challenges moving forward as other teams will keep an eye on how this situation unfolds.