Ja Morant Allegedly Shows Gun on IG Following Charge of Attack on Teen: NBA Tracker
Ja Morant #JaMorant
As the 2022-23 NBA calendar year progresses, stay up to date with the latest news happening around the league with our DallasBasketball.com tracker.
MARCH 4 JA TROUBLE The issues for Grizzlies star Ja Morant continue.
Earlier this week the Washington Post reported that a teenage is accusing Morant of punching him at least 12 times – and then returning to the scene of a pickup game with a gun in his waistband and with his hand on the weapon.
Morant is also under scrutiny for his alleged role in a confrontation that took place between his entourage and members of the Pacers.
And now? Inexplicably, Morant just flashed what appeared to be a gun on Instagram Live.
FEB 27 LEBRON TO MISS ‘MULTIPLE WEEKS’
After helping the Los Angeles Lakers erase a 27-point deficit in a 111-108 comeback win over the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday, The Athletic is reporting that LeBron James is set to miss “multiple weeks” with a foot injury he suffered during the game.
“Miraculously” seems to be slightly dramatic wording at first glance, but then again, it must take a significant injury to keep the NBA’s all-time leading scorer sidelined for multiple weeks when the Lakers are trying to climb back within play-in tournament range in the Western Conference.
With only about 20 games remaining, “multiple weeks” could translate into being “the rest of the regular season” before it’s all said and done. If that’s the case, the Lakers’ postseason hopes have officially been put on live support.
FEB 18 NBA ALL-STAR SATURDAY NIGHT WINNERS
On what turned out to be an exciting Saturday night at NBA All-Star Weekend, Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard and Philadelphia 76ers’ Mac McClung stole the show with their performances in the main events.
Lillard put on a clutch shooting display as he edged out Indiana Pacers sharpshooter Buddy Hield for the 3-Point Contest title. Then, in a breathtaking showing that nobody saw coming, McClung had the Salt Lake City crowd swooning as he went on to win the Dunk Contest title.
TNT announcer Reggie Miller even went as far as to say McClung “saved the Dunk Contest” after the even had fallen flat over the last few years. For once, Miller might have a point.
FEB 15 MJ GIFT NBA legend Michael Jordan turns 60 on Feb. 17, and his gift?
It’s outgoing, in the form of a $10 million donation to the children’s charity Make-A-Wish.
This marks the largest individual donation in the organization’s 43-year history. Jordan has been a supporter for more than 30 years.
Said Make-A-Wish CEO Leslie Motter: “Everyone knows about Michael’s legacy on the basketball court, but it’s what he has consistently done off the court when no one’s watching that makes him a true legend for wish families and the wider Make-A-Wish community.”
FEB 13 MAVS CONSIDERING LAMARCUS ALDRIDGE?
With the NBA trade deadline having come and gone, the Dallas Mavericks are now looking at other ways to improve their depth for what they hope will be a deep playoff run this season. Dallas already has plans to bring in 33-year-old Justin Holiday to help at the wing position, and now they’re looking to bolster their big-man depth as well.
According to a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Mavs are planning to work out seven-time All-Star and Dallas native LaMarcus Aldridge on Tuesday. The 37-year-old has averaged 19.1 points and 8.1 rebounds per game throughout his 16-year career, and he averaged 12.9 points and 5.5 rebounds in 47 games for the Brooklyn Nets last season.
FEB 12 DANNY GREEN TO CLEVELAND
Another day, another Dallas Mavericks’ buyout target signing elsewhere…
On Sunday, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Danny Green, who just secured a buyout from the Houston Rockets, is planning to sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers — the team he started his 14-year career with.
If the Mavs are hoping to improve their wing depth, Washington Wizards’ Will Barton might be the best remaining option if he secures a buyout in the coming days.
Although they aren’t wing options, other names that could potentially help Dallas include John Wall, Derrick Rose, Patrick Beverley and Nerlens Noel.
FEB 11 TERRENCE ROSS CHOOSING SUNS OVER MAVS?
After reporting that the Dallas Mavericks were the frontrunners to land the services of Orlando Magic swingman Terrence Ross earlier in the day, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski is now reporting that Ross has decided to sign with the Phoenix Suns instead.
This is a big blow for the Mavs, who could really use some wing depth after trading Dorian Finney-Smith to the Brooklyn Nets in the Kyrie Irving trade. It especially hurts considering that Tim Hardaway Jr. had to leave Saturday’s matchup against the Sacramento Kings with hamstring tightness.
We’ll see what other buyout opportunities come up for Dallas in the coming days.
FEB 11 MAVS SEEKING WING DEPTH
The Dallas Mavericks are 3-0 since trading for superstar point guard Kyrie Irving. With Irving’s elite ballhandling abilities and Josh Green emerging as a legitimate ballhandler option off the bench, GM Nico Harrison said on Friday that the team would be prioritizing wing depth on the NBA buyout market.
On Saturday, Marc Stein reported that the Mavs are interested in signing Orlando Magic swingman Terrence Ross. Ross and Orlando agreed to a contract buyout soon after, and now the race is on to see which contending team will secure his services.
The Phoenix Suns, who recently shocked the NBA world by trading for Kevin Durant, have been rumored as being a suitor for Ross as well. We’ll see whose star power is more alluring to the 11-year veteran.
In 42 games for Orlando, Ross averaged eight points on 43.1 percent shooting from the field and 38.1 percent from deep.
FEB 9 JOHN WALL TO MAVS?
John Wall to the Mavs? DallasBasketball.com is hearing that “buzz” in NBA circles as the five-time All-Star is on the outs with the Los Angeles Clippers.
NBA reporter Marc Stein writes that the veteran guard’s “tenure with the Clippers is nearing an end.” That could still mean a trade by Thursday’s 2 p.m. CT trade buzzer deadline.
But if no deal? Then comes the buyout. And the Mavs, obviously in “go-for-it” mode as they also work to follow up the blockbuster Kyrie Irving trade with another talent grab, could find use for Wall, 32, though he’s averaging just 11.4 points and 5.2 assists per game … and has been out since Jan. 13 due to an abdominal injury.
Wall is one buyout idea. As we write here, Russell Westbrook, just trade-dumped by the Lakers, is another.
FEB 4 KYRIE MEANS ‘PROOF’
Let’s call it “Luka-friendly.”
Way in the back of the brains of the people who run your Dallas Mavs, they surely have harbored a private worry: What if Luka Doncic – failing to see the organization pull of the ultimate “Luka-friendly” acquisition – someday wants out?
What owner Mark Cuban and GM Nico Harrison just did in trading for Kyrie Irving – and in the distinct possibility of this summer signing him to a four-year, $198 million maximum salary deal – should end the MFFL worries about Dallas management being “too careful” or “not committed enough” or whatever the criticism has been.
The Mavs are betting on Kyrie in this Sunday pre-deadline deal, having given up Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, a 2029 first-round pick, and multiple second-round picks (with Markieff Morris also heading to Dallas). And they are betting a lot.
But you know what else we’ll bet on? Luka Doncic will be pleased. And if necessarily, will even be pacified. … And it’ll be a while before Mavs critics get to accuse them of “not trying.”
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