Derrick Rose plans to mentor Ja Morant, but not be his chaperone.
Rose, now 34, signed with the Grizzlies this offseason as superstar guard Morant faces a 25-game suspension incurred after the latest time he was seen brandishing a firearm on a live stream.
At the Grizzlies’ media day Monday, Rose made his intentions clear regarding his relationship with Morant.
“I’m not here to babysit, I’m not here to follow you around, I’m not here to cheerlead,” Rose said, according to the Memphis Commercial Appeal.
“I’m here to push you. In the league, there are very few opportunities where players get a chance to play with somebody that has a similar style of play. I’m very fortunate to be in a situation where a lot of people look at his game and they kind of compare our games together. But he’s on a whole other level.”
Rose said he has been “chopping it up” with Morant throughout the offseason after getting his number from former Grizzlies great Tony Allen.
Morant was accused of a number of instances of threatening violence in a Washington Post story this past May, but was ultimately never charged with criminal wrongdoing.
Not long after the story came out, he posted a video on IG Live in which he was holding a gun while at a strip club in Colorado.
He eventually received an eight-game suspension from the NBA.
In June, he waved a firearm on a live stream yet again and received the 25-game suspension to this start this upcoming season.
Marcus Smart, who the Grizzlies acquired from the Celtics this offseason, also spoke to reporters Monday about taking an interest in Morant from a personal perspective.
“I care for him as a human and as a teammate,” Smart said, as covered by the Associated Press.
“And I want to see him succeed because if he’s not succeeding, I tell you one thing. This team’s not going to succeed. And we know that. And I think everybody in the NBA world knows that.”
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