While Ja Morant is sidelined with a Grade 2 left hamstring strain, Gilbert Arenas added a different perspective to what he might be going through. Arenas could relate to Morant on a personal level because of a similar brush with league discipline. While the former NBA All-Star has usually stepped up to defend the guard since his Memphis Grizzlies days, this time he’s speaking about the possible toll Morant’s off-court drama has taken on his physical health.
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Arenas, with Nick Young, Danny Green, and Josiah Johnson, discussed the root cause behind Ja Morant’s health struggles while he remains on the Portland Trail Blazers’ injury list on Gil’s Arena. Addressing the off-court controversies and subsequent league discipline that derailed Morant’s recent seasons before arriving in Portland, Arenas argued that the public outrage and the NBA’s heavy-handed response completely failed to match the actual severity of the situation.
Arenas initially referenced LeBron James’ conditioning practices to avoid mechanical stress-related injuries. When Nick Young suggested that stress could be a contributing factor for Morant, the panel agreed that Morant went through a lot of that.
“Stress stops you from putting in the work, though,” Arenas said, which Swaggy and Green agreed with. “That’s what I’m saying… Like, back in the day when you were stressed, you went to the gym and worked out. Now, sometimes, man, that stress… that you got to think about that noise. And I know the world made it this big thing. Yeah. And I get it. But you have to think about it like he’s in his car with his friend, nobody around, and the outcry on that…”
Arenas didn’t explicitly mention it, but he’s referring to the second 2023 incident when Morant displayed a firearm in an Instagram Live (following an earlier 8-game suspension in March for a similar nightclub incident). He was later suspended for 25 games. While Arenas was suspended for double that for his 2009 incident, he feels Morant’s punishment was worse.
“What I’m saying is… I’m in my car by myself with nobody’s in danger. We’re not bothering anybody, right? But because I’m an NBA player, obviously, I don’t supposed to do this on Live. But the penalty… didn’t match the crime. The penalty and the outcry of me being removed… it didn’t match.”
With Swaggy and Green also agreeing, Arenas broke down the mental toll that severe disciplinary action takes on young superstars when the league attempts to make an example out of them.
“So that right there, that alone, mentally takes you out when you sit there, and it’s just like, God, who’d I kill? Like, it’s like you just sitting there like, who did I kill? Who got in trouble? Who was in danger? This is self-inflicted.”
Young agreed with Arenas, slamming the mandatory rehabilitation steps imposed on Morant. “That seek counseling… oh, come on now,” Young scoffed.
Although Josiah Johnson felt, “Not everything needs to go on the ‘Gram,” the NBA players in the studio expressed concern for the stigma around Morant. Young felt that Morant was treated as if he were in a “halfway house, bro. I have to apologize to the world,” and Green was in disbelief that he was punished so severely for online content.
Arenas emphasized, “Like, apologize to the world for that? But that mentally can… that can do a number on you, man. Like, it has to match.”
Arenas’ perspective comes with unique personal context. During the 2009–10 season, Arenas served a 50-game suspension after bringing unloaded firearms into the Washington Wizards’ locker room following a dispute with teammate Javaris Crittenton. The teammates have since spoken about it on Netflix’s Untold series.
Having watched his own career trajectory alter permanently due to league discipline and media scrutiny, Arenas has consistently spoken out about the thin margin for error players like himself and Morant face.
When Morant was suspended for 25 games to open the 2023–24 season following his second Instagram Live gun-brandishing incident, which resulted in approximately $7.6 million in direct lost salary plus broader endorsement and bonus opportunities totaling an estimated $50 million, Arenas took it personally. In 2023, Arenas spoke about Morant multiple times, urging him to learn from his example while simultaneously defending him.
When Danny Green questioned whether Morant is mentally prepared to regain his status as a top-five point guard in the NBA, Arenas remained cautious but hopeful. “I think he’s still like working on it,” Arenas admitted.
Green chimed in regarding Morant’s eventual ceiling moving forward, stating, “I think he’ll build… I think he’ll be good, but I don’t know if he’ll get back to… like, it’s tough to say to get back to Ja that he was.”
Morant’s getting a fresh start in Portland. But the latest hamstring issue has paused his redemption arc for now. Regardless, Arenas continues to fight the stigma that sticks to Morant and himself, waiting for him to make a comeback.
