Zach Randolph believes Ja Morant will find redemption in Memphis like he did | Giannotto

Zach Randolph started nodding his head before he knew the entire premise of the question.

Can his tale of NBA redemption, crafted right here in Memphis, serve as something of a model for Ja Morant?

“Oh, yeah,” the former Grizzlies star responded.

The man known fondly around here as Z-Bo was speaking earlier this week at an event in downtown Memphis for those who support Connect Music Group, a local startup with a mission to help aspiring singers and musicians monetize their work in the digital music world. Randolph’s NLess Entertainment label, which he founded with partner Marcus Howell in 2016, was being celebrated as one of the major investors in this round of Connect Music’s funding.

Thirteen years after Randolph was accused of financing a major marijuana ring in the Indianapolis area, after so many bad headlines to start his NBA career that he had been traded three times in three years upon joining the Grizzlies, he’s now helping to finance music dreams in Memphis.

The numbers are actually staggering. Artists associated with NLess Entertainment, most notably Memphis rapper Moneybagg Yo, have had their songs streamed 12 billion times in the past seven years. That, according to Howell, has equated to $57 million of revenue.

“They’re on the way to mogul status,” Connect Music CEO George Monger said.

Randolph reached this point gradually, of course, with plenty of playoff runs and MLGW bills paid off in between. The story of how he was embraced by Memphis, of how his became the first jersey retired in franchise history, has been told so much over the years that it’s part of city lore. But it’s worth dusting off again during these doldrums of the NBA calendar, with Morant mostly in seclusion after a year in which he couldn’t escape his own missteps. As a reminder of what’s possible in Memphis, and how perceptions can change.

“Ja is going to be OK,” Randolph declared. “I talked to him earlier this summer. He’s all right. I think he’s going to learn from his mistake. He’s going to be all right.”

Randolph makes it easier to envision, five years from now, everybody looking back on this as an unfortunate stage in Morant’s life and career, filled with lapses of immaturity, that eventually spurred something even greater than what we’ve seen from him thus far.

“My mind wasn’t always, when I was young, on business,” Randolph said.

But he was given a chance to grow up here, at a more advanced part of his career than Morant is at right now.

Morant will be given that chance, too, once he returns to the court following a 25-game suspension to start this season. He will be forgiven once more, if only because Randolph’s transformation from troubled star to franchise icon proved so rewarding. Heck, we just saw a version of this happen earlier this month during Tony Allen's appearance with the Big3 in Memphis, when he got the loudest ovation of everyone in one of his first public appearances in the city since becoming entangled in a fraud case involving the NBA's healthcare plan.

“Coming here to Memphis when I did come, career was, I obviously played,” Randolph said, “but there were negative things surrounding trouble that I got into when I was younger. Coming here (put) it in perspective. It was like a puzzle, a perfect fit coming to Memphis. With Marc (Gasol) and Mike (Conley) and these great guys they already had on the team, paving the way with them, turn into All-Star players, and change an organization, it was great. It was all God’s plan.”

It felt meant to be with Morant as well, almost from the moment the ping pong balls bounced the right way back in 2019 and the Grizzlies got the No. 2 pick. He not only quickly morphed into a superstar unlike any the franchise had seen before, he was – like Randolph – a puzzle piece that seemed to fit just right with the ethos of the entire city. He loved Memphis in a way some outsiders never can. Don't lose sight of that despite the problems he caused himself of late.

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Zach Randolph wants to keep playing in the NBA, but Moneybagg Yo might be his future

Though the parallels aren’t seamless – much of Randolph’s off-court indiscretions occurred before he got to Memphis or outside of Memphis, whereas Morant’s issues have largely taken place here – the relationship between this city and its biggest star will be crucial moving forward.

Let’s only hope it’s as fruitful as the one Randolph forged.

“This is home. I love this city. I’m thinking about moving back. I don’t know,” said Randolph. “I got a lot of business and interests and good friends and family here, so I’m thinking about moving back to the city. At least have a place here.”

He'll always have a place here.

You can reach Commercial Appeal columnist Mark Giannotto via email at mgiannotto@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter: @mgiannotto

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Why Zach Randolph believes Ja Morant will find redemption in Memphis