NBA veterans are more vital than ever. So why are they being pushed out?

S hortly before Memphis Grizzles star Ja Morant flashed a handgun inside a strip club on Instagram Live in early March, his team held a players-only meeting. Steven Adams, the 10-year NBA veteran who at 29 is by far the oldest member of the Grizzlies, urged his younger teammates to conduct themselves more professionally on the road after starting the season 12-20 away from home.

But the message did not resonate with Memphis’ franchise player. Morant went to the strip club, acted recklessly, and was given a suspension for his actions.

Other young teams like the Houston Rockets and Charlotte Hornets have also had problems in their locker rooms. The Rockets were described as a “mess” by members of the team, while the Hornets had to do without Miles Bridges after the forward was arrested for felony domestic violence in July (he pleaded no contest to a felony domestic charge in November and was given three years probation. He is currently under investigation by the NBA). And those are just the off-court issues.

It could be a coincidence that three of the five youngest teams in the league are experiencing these problems. But the NBA players and coaches the Guardian spoke with for this story don’t think there is anything coincidental about it – they believe that as the league has gotten younger, richer, and more influenced by social media, the absence of veterans in locker rooms is leading to problems that are otherwise preventable.

“I think there is a danger in not having that,” says retired 16-year NBA veteran CJ Miles. “Having the veteran guy who has been there and been around and dealt with those things, that pressure, might change the way [a guy like Morant] went to deal with those things.”

Miles adds that when he came