Ja Morant believes people have been too slow to consider him an All-Star caliber player. 

“I feel like it took me averaging 35 points a game to finally get some All-Star recognition,” Morant told Yahoo Sports. “But, I really can’t speak too much on that. I feel like my chip will never leave.”

Morant came into Wednesday's loss to the Portland Trail Blazers averaging 35 points per game.

“I was in position to be an All-Star my first two years and didn’t make it. That bothered me a lot,” Morant told Yahoo Sports. “So I just stopped focusing on that and just focusing on my play. I’m a winner, and that’s the main goal. If I do that, everything else will take care of itself. I just got to control what I can control and that’s my play on the floor.” 

Morant went No. 2 in the draft behind Zion Williamson and went on to win Rookie of the Year. 

“I’m just happy that I got picked where I’m at right now,” Morant told Yahoo Sports. “I love the Grizzlies organization, I love the fans. If I went back to that draft, I hope I go No. 2 again.”

Ja Morant is almost certain to sign a contract extension with the Memphis Grizzlies next offseason when they offer it to him.

“Me, I’m not a big fan on the leaving,” Morant said. “As long as I’m here, I’m here; that’s my focus. Regardless, I’m going to make the best of any situation, continue to just go out with my teammates, win games, play in front of our fans and do whatever I can to continue to bring love.”

Morant believes the Grizzlies have enough already to contend in the Western Conference.

“One hundred percent, no question,” he said.

After reaching the playoffs last season, the Jazz made a few significant roster move such as trading Jonas Valanciunas for Steven Adams.

“I feel like the talent was always there. We just have to piece it together, and a lot of credit goes to our front office and our coaching staff giving us the right pieces to be good as soon as we started,” Morant said. “My mindset when I was coming here was not being a lottery pick again unless we trading someone. I was coming here to win, and I was able to do that my first two years, basically making it my first year, making it my second … still not satisfied. I want to go farther. I want a championship.”

Jaren Jackson Jr. has agreed to a four-year, $105 million contract extension with the Memphis Grizzlies.

Jackson and the Grizzlies had until 6:00 PM ET to agree to an extension.

Jackson averaged 14.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.6 blocks in 23.5 minutes over 11 games last season with the Grizzlies. Jackson has been a productive frontcourt player when healthy after entering the NBA in 2018 as the fourth overall pick.

Jarrett Culver made the opening night roster for the Memphis Grizzlies, but the team elected to decline their team option on his contract for the 22-23 season.

Culver will make just under $6.4 million this season on an expiring contract.

Memphis acquired Culver in an offseason trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Culver was the sixth overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft out of Texas Tech.

The Memphis Grizzlies have waived Kris Dunn, which gets the team to a 15-man roster.

The Grizzlies kept Sam Merrill and Jarrett Culver for their opening night roster.

The Memphis Grizzlies continued their roster shuffling by waiving Sean McDermott and Romeo Weems. Memphis signed Ahmad Caver and Matt Hurt to fill their open roster spots.

McDermott played on a Two-Way contract with Memphis last season. He appeared in 18 NBA games.

Weems went undrafted out of DePaul at the 2021 NBA Draft. He then played for the Grizzlies at Summer League.

Caver has played each of the last two seasons with the Memphis Hustle of the G League. In 54 appearances, Caver has averaged 11.8 points 3.5 assists per game.

Hurt originally signed a Two-Way contract with the Houston Rockets after going undrafted out of Duke at the 2021 NBA Draft. He was waived in late-September.

All four players are expected to join the Hustle as Affiliate Players.

The Grizzlies still have 16 fully guaranteed contract on their books. Barring a trade, Memphis will have some additional dead money on their cap sheet this season.

Dillon Brooks will be out another two to three weeks due to the fracture in his left hand not healing as quickly as expected.

Brooks underwent new imaging this week before the determination was made.

The Memphis Grizzlies will reevaluate Brooks in two to three weeks.

The Memphis Grizzlies have waived guard Shaq Buchanan and signed forward Romeo Weems. Buchanan was signed just before training camp. Weems played in 2021 Summer League with Memphis.

Buchanan scored seven points in 11 minutes in one preseason appearance for the Grizzlies. He's spent parts of the last two preseasons with Memphis.

Weems went undrafted out of DePaul at the 2021 NBA Draft. The 6-foot-7 small forward is only 20 years old and seen as a developmental prospect.

Both Buchanan and Weems are eventually expected to land with the Memphis Hustle in the G League as Affiliate Players.