Ja Morant, addressing recent incidents, says 'I realize what I have to lose'

Memphis Grizzlies superstar Ja Morant, in an interview Wednesday, said he realized how much he is risking with his pattern of poor off-court decisions during the week and a half since the incident that resulted in his eight-game suspension from the NBA.

Hours after the Grizzlies played the Nuggets in Denver on March 3, Morant posted an Instagram Live video from an area nightclub in which he could be seen holding up a handgun with his left hand. The All-Star guard soon thereafter entered a counseling program at a Florida facility while the league office investigated his handling of a firearm.

«Honestly, I feel like we put ourselves in that situation with our past mistakes, and now it's only right that we focus in and lock in on being smarter and more responsible, holding each other accountable for everything,» Morant said Wednesday during an interview with ESPN's Jalen Rose, referring to his inner circle. «I feel like in the past we didn't know what was at stake. And now finally me having that time to realize everything, have that time alone, I realize that now.

»I realize what I have to lose, and for us as a group, what we have to lose. It's pretty much just that being more responsible, more smarter and staying away from all the bad decisions."

Morant conducted the sit-down interview with Rose in New York hours after meeting with NBA commissioner Adam Silver, who called Morant's conduct «irresponsible, reckless and potentially very dangerous» in a statement Wednesday announcing the eight-game suspension.

Morant has been away from the Grizzlies since the video was posted, and the franchise had previously announced he would be out at least through Wednesday's game against the Miami Heat. The eight-game suspension from the