“Mad Max” wants Morant to start changing the negative narrative around him.
For the wrong reasons, Memphis Grizzlies superstar Ja Morant is back in the limelight. The league flagged the young guard for using a gun gesture to celebrate plays. Ja responded by saying he no longer cares because he has been portrayed as the villain these past two years. The two-time All-Star ended up getting fined $75,000 after not heeding the warning.
Now, one of the NBA’s old-school bad boys — Vernon Maxwell, is telling Ja to stay away from the heel role because it could destroy his career the way it did his.
“I love the family, man. I mean, that’s my guy. But Ja got to chill with all that sh**,” said Maxwell on the “All the Smoke Unplugged” podcast. “You already got a reputation. Come on, Ja. This is Uncle Max talkin’ to you. Goddamn baby, we gotta change the goddamn narrative a little bit. You were gonna be the face of the NBA at one time. Now, you the villain. That’s who I was.”
“Mad Max” was on the OG villain
Maxwell was one of the NBA’s bad boys during the very physical 90s era. Known as “Mad Max,” he was a key player on the Rockets’ 1994 championship team before losing his spot to Clyde Drexler during the team’s second title run. The Florida native wasn’t just one of the best scoring guards during his time but also an excellent defender.
However, Maxwell was known for his personality and bad boy image, which often got him in trouble on and off the court. Although injuries ultimately ended his career, Maxwell’s reputation often preceded him, preventing him from becoming a true superstar in the league.
Morant has achieved much more than what Maxwell did in his career. However, if he thinks it’s okay to be the villain, “Mad Max” is telling him that it’s actually not.
“I mean, you can embrace the villain part and sh** be a villain. But still, man, keep that goddamn money in your goddamn pocket, boy. I’m trying to tell you, man. Save that mother *** money, man, because I wish I…I mean, I know you motherfuc**** make way more money than what the fu** I was making, but I don’t give a fu**. Save that money man, be more professional about what you’re doing. You’ll get more motherfu*** deals than what ya getting boy,” he added.
Ja’s defiance is hurting his marketability
Just recently, three-time NBA Sixth Man of the Year winner Lou Williams said on the “Run it Back” podcast that Morant’s defiance and stubbornness are starting to hurt his marketability. Lou Will mentioned that Morant had one of the most popular basketball shoes on the market. Still, after the two gun incidents that got him suspended, the popularity of the Nike Ja shoe significantly dropped. Matt Barnes confirmed what Williams said:
“He was on the trajectory to be the face of the league, hands down. And obviously, all the negative stuff that’s come his way has unfortunately been self-inflicted. Obviously, he got hurt. But the off the court trouble wasn’t anybody else doing anything. It’s because of him, and that affects the bottom line across the board,” said Barnes.
“Because I mean, he has a great shoe. And his shoe was on pace – this is right when Kyrie was leaving, so they needed a shoe to take in. And how I judge shoes is how many shoes do I see it at an AAU tournament. And I was seeing Ja’s shoe on everybody. And now I don’t,” he added.
Barnes knows a lot about the AAU scene because he has twins — Carter and Isaiah — who play in those tournaments. If Matt and Lou are correct, then Ja must heed Maxwell’s warning because the popularity of one’s shoes is often directly related to how a player is perceived by the public.
In the NBA business, perception affects marketability, which in turn hurts a player’s earning power and, sometimes, like in “Mad Max’s” case, his NBA career, too.