Playoff series shines light on friendship between Ja Morant and Karl-Anthony Towns’ dads
During the fourth quarter of Game 1, Tee Morant — father of Grizzlies star point guard Ja Morant — stood up from his courtside seat and walked the sidelines to Karl Towns Sr., and the two shared an embrace.
In Game 2, the two were doing sideline interviews with one another. They roasted one another and their respective teams
“They get a little lead, now they want to talk,” Towns Sr. said in that interview.
“We ain’t ducking no smoke,” Morant responded. “We just give y’all the first win, so now you’d feel like you were in the playoffs. … Four more games and you’re out of here.
They were laughing the entire time.
On the Timberwolves’ local broadcast on Bally Sports North, the two shared the origins of their friendship.
“We’re members of a fathers of men in professional basketball organization, so me and Tee have always been close,” Towns said.
Morant said he “loves” Towns Sr., noting Towns sends him scriptures every day.
“I don’t have enough time to read all of them,” Morant said, “but I love him for that.”
The two sat side by side at courtside at Target Center for Game 3 on Thursday.
“It was just a good opportunity to finally play against each other,” Towns said on Bally Sports North. “Our sons have been doing great things in the league, so it was a pleasure and honor just to play against his son.”
Towns said it’s a “dream come true” to see all of the support their sons receive. And now they get to share the experience together in the playoffs.
“Just pretty much showing that fathers are in their son’s lives,” Morant said, “especially at the pro level.”
BEVERLEY TRADE
Memphis acquired Patrick Beverley in an offseason trade with the Clippers. Beverley tweeted about the move to Memphis, but soon after was moved to Minnesota.
That was a common theme this offseason for Memphis, which was essentially serving as a layover as it acquired players and then traded them away for other pieces.
But was there any thought to keeping Beverley, who’s played a pivotal role in Minnesota’s playoff push?
“It was in the conversation,” Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said. “A lot of faith in (Memphis general manager Zachary Kleiman) and how we want to build the roster, the depth and the guard position. So obviously there’s always difficult decisions, but he’s obviously made an impact here in Minnesota.”
THOUGHTS ON MEMPHIS?
Timberwolves coach Chris Finch was asked for his thoughts on the Memphis environment after playing the first two games of the playoffs at FedEx Forum.
“They were nice. I mean, yeah, juiced-up arena,” Finch said. “Wasn’t the most intimidating atmosphere I’ve ever been in, but it’s a good one.”
