Rapper Moneybagg Yo believes his friend, embattled Grizzlies guard Ja Morant, will "snap out" of this recent series of troubling events.
In an interview with Complex last week, the 31-year-old rapper spoke about his past and a conversation he had with Morant, who was suspended from all team activities by the Grizzlies earlier this month after he appeared to again brandish a firearm in a video on social media.
"He's 23. I feel like it's just a phase," Moneybagg Yo said of Morant, who was embroiled in a similar gun controversy in March and suspended for eight games.
"When I was 23-24, I was just doing stuff, and people had to tell me - I had to bump my head and God had to [teach me a lesson]. I'm grateful to make it out [from] those situations. Some people don't even shake back from certain situations.
"But, I feel like Ja probably don't even know, like, what it is right now, like he probably don't even believe this is life, you have those stages."
Moneybagg Yo added he also offered "encouraging words" to Morant, who could potentially face a hefty suspension in the wake of the latest gun-related incident.
"Ja gonna snap out of it, and of course I gave him encouraging words. He was like, "I appreciate that big bro, I got you. I'm gonna get it right,'" the rapper said, according to the Daily Mail.
Morant addressed the ordeal in a recent statement to ESPN.
"I know I've disappointed a lot of people who have supported me. This is a journey and I recognize there is more work to do," Morant said, via ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
"My words may not mean much right now, but I take full accountability for my actions. I'm committed to continuing to work on myself."
Morant made headlines again last week following cryptic Instagram posts that were later deleted.
The police conducted a welfare check as a result.
Morant was found to be "fine", according to TMZ.