Kendric Davis' tough love advice to Ja Morant, and how he almost signed with Grizzlies
Kendric Davis has gone through his share of struggles, so when he learned of Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant's recent incidents, the former Memphis Tigers standout reached out with a message and tough love.
“ ‘You gotta grow,’ ” Davis told Morant. “ ‘You gotta become a man.' ”
Davis and Morant’s friendship grew through mutual friends around the Memphis area, and the two clicked. Morant liked Davis’ mentality on the basketball court. That relationship grew to the point where Davis, 24, has gotten close enough to offer advice to the 23-year-old Grizzlies star who is serving a 25-game suspension to start the 2023-24 NBA season.
Davis' NBA career is about to begin, and as it turns out, he was close to joining Morant and his other close friend, Desmond Bane, as Grizzlies.
Throughout the night of the NBA Draft, Davis received consistent encouragement from Morant and Bane, who he played a season of college basketball with at TCU. Davis was scared to tell the Grizzlies backcourt about his next destination based on the rich history between the two teams, but instead, he was met with gratitude.
When it was left to a choice between the Golden State Warriors or the Grizzlies, Davis chose the Warriors and signed with their summer league team after going undrafted in the 2023 NBA Draft.
The Grizzlies duo wanted Davis at Memphis "so bad," but there were no hard feelings.
“The first thing they texted me was ‘I love you. I just know you’re going to be in the league for a long time.’” Davis said.
More: Memphis basketball's Kendric Davis listed on Golden State Warriors summer league roster
Based on a previous report from The Commercial Appeal, Davis worked out with the Grizzlies on June 14. His Warriors pre-draft workouts left more of an impression, thanks to former Memphis Tigers guard Lester Quinones, who also plays for the Warriors.
Davis didn't expect to be choosing between the Grizzlies and Warriors on draft night. He thought his destination was already settled when the Indiana Pacers told him he would be taken with the No. 55 pick, but that didn’t materialize.
Going from being cheered on in FedExForum to playing for a rival will be different. Davis said it was really tough turning down Memphis because of his connections with Penny Hardaway, Morant and Bane, but he had to take the emotion out of his decision.
“Once you get (to this point), it’s all about a business decision for me and my son,” Davis said.
Reach sports writer Jerry Jiang at JJiang@gannett.com or on Twitter @j_jiang30
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Kendric Davis' advice to Ja Morant, almost signs to Memphis Grizzlies
