Skip Bayless believes Ja Morant’s cryptic Instagram posts from Wednesday morning, which were quickly deleted, are “a cry for help” as they got here 11 days after the Grizzlies star was filmed on Instagram Live holding a gun for the second time in lower than three months.
During Wednesday’s installment of FS1’s “Undisputed,” the host said his good friend, rapper Lil Wayne, asked to attach him with Morant after the Grizzlies star shared concerning messages on his Instagram Story, including one which just said, “bye.”
“After I first saw this earlier this morning, it stopped me in my tracks,” Bayless said of Morant’s reported posts, which included photos of his family.
“Because — to your point [co-host Shannon Sharpe] — we take this very seriously. Was this a cry for help? I don’t know needless to say, nevertheless it felt prefer it. Within the context of what’s happening, it definitely might be.”
The photos, which have since been deleted, were circulated on social media.
Later Wednesday, the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office in Tennessee sent police to Morant’s home for a welfare check, with a spokesperson telling TMZ Sports that the 23-year-old NBA All-Star “is advantageous.”
The sheriff’s office couldn’t confirm TMZ’s reporting when reached by The Post.
“Normally, people don’t get on IG and say, ‘Bye, Mom. Bye, Dad. Love you, Mom. Love you, Dad,’ after which show himself walking away,” Sharpe said, referring to Morant’s reported messages.
Bayless went on to say that Lil Wayne tried to achieve out to Morant and never heard back.
“Lil Wayne said, ‘I speak from experience because I made a mistake and I wound up on Rikers Island in prison for some time,’” Bayless said. “So he said, ‘I desired to consult with Ja about that.’”
Sharpe also said he’d like to sit down down and talk with Morant.
Bayless went on to say that he believes Morant can turn things around.
“I’m gonna say it yet another time: there’s good on this kid. There’s good,” he said. “He turned his game around and won Most Improved Player.
“You may as well then say, ‘Are you able to turn your life back around?’ Sure, you could possibly. But you gotta commit.”
Morant was suspended by the Grizzlies after he appeared on a friend’s Instagram Live video holding a gun in a automotive on May 13.
He reportedly faces a lengthy suspension because the NBA investigates the incident.
It got here after Morant was seen with a gun in a separate Instagram Survive March 4 on the Shotgun Willie’s strip club in Glendale, Colo. after a Grizzlies loss to the Nuggets in Denver.
A separate NBA investigation found that he was intoxicated on the time.
Last Tuesday, Morant released an apology following the second video, which some believed was written by ChatGPT.
Bayless and Sharpe also discussed that on a separate episode of “Undisputed.”
“I do know I’ve upset lots of individuals who have supported me,” Morant said in an announcement, via ESPN. “It is a journey and I recognize there’s more work to do.
“My words may not mean much straight away, but I take full accountability for my actions. I’m committed to continuing to work on myself.”
NBA commissioner Adam Silver said he was “shocked” after seeing the second video.
“We’re within the means of investigating it and we’ll determine exactly what happened as best as we will,” Silver told Malika Andrews during ESPN’s Draft Lottery show last Tuesday.
“The video’s a bit grainy and all that, but I’m assuming the worst. We’ll determine exactly what happened there.”
Following the primary gun incident in March, Morant flew to Recent York to fulfill with Silver, who handed him an eight-game suspension without pay.
That very same month, Morant attended a brief counseling program in Florida, and was reinstated shortly after.
Morant signed a five-year rookie maximum extension with the Grizzlies price as much as $231 million in 2022.