The Zach Lowe Show — “What’s Going on in Memphis With Chris Vernon, and a Trip Around the West With Michael Pina”

Date: November 3, 2025
Host: Zach Lowe
Guests: Chris Vernon (Voice of Memphis, The Mismatch), Michael Pina (The Ringer)

Main Theme & Purpose

This episode dives deep into the turbulent Memphis Grizzlies situation, focusing on Ja Morant’s suspension, team chemistry, and future with Chris Vernon. The second half turns into a "trip around the West" with Michael Pina, covering Western Conference teams’ early impressions, fake Ja Morant trades, and general league trends. Zach and his guests blend granular basketball analysis with the season's emerging dramas, all peppered with the show’s trademark wit and honesty.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Memphis Grizzlies and the Ja Morant Crisis

(00:50 - 24:19)
— Guest: Chris Vernon

a) The Ja Morant Incident

• Morant appeared disengaged vs. the Lakers, standing in the corner, indifferent — a visible sign something was wrong.
• After the game, delivered a brusque interview:
  “I don’t know, ask the coaches. They probably don’t even want to play me.”
  (Zach Lowe paraphrasing, 01:30)
• Suspended for conduct detrimental to the team: unclear details, but stemmed from poor attitude and a heated team meeting.

b) Vernon’s Reaction & Local Perception

• Vernon described his personal coping:
  “I’m gonna play golf, I’m gonna gamble on college football, and I’m gonna have a good Saturday. That’s what I’m doing. I’m not dealing with this.” (04:25)
• Morant posted “go Grizz” on Instagram before the next game, which, in Vernon’s view, signaled a potential cooling-off:
  “At that point there was like a huge sigh. Everybody’s like, ah, okay. … Most people feel better about it than they did certainly on Friday night.” (04:55)
• New head coach’s philosophy is direct confrontation — addressed Ja openly in front of teammates: “I am going to take everything head on. That’s what I’m doing. No matter who it is, I’m taking it head on… In Germany, after I started doing it, we won 80% of our games.” (06:50)
  This is now being tested at the NBA level.

c) Long-term Stakes & Public Perception

• Zach queries if Morant’s star value is automagically worth the headaches:
  “Can you win like a little more on the big stage before you are just doing this? … Just a lot of noise and a lot of bluster for a player who’s won one playoff series.” (15:09)
• Vernon agrees:
  “You think that’s what I wanted, when my texts were blowing up, when my friends are all calling me, when my Twitter feed blows up? I would much prefer not having the drama.” (16:31)

d) Morant Trade Market & Franchise Direction

• Lowe floats: “If this goes badly and they do end up investigating the trade market, what do you think they want out of that kind of trade?” (18:32)
• Vernon:
  “He has an outsized importance for the fan base, for the city. He’s their guy, right? For better or for worse. … I don’t think they would [trade him], honestly.” (19:53)
• Zach presses: “If the phone rings and it’s a team that’s hungry, I don’t think you can hang up…” (22:55)

e) Team’s Immediate Future

• Both agree: how Ja and the team respond to the suspension, and whether Memphis can again “just win games when Morant and Jackson are healthy” (17:24) is the storyline to watch—this is the “litmus test” of the new coach and culture.

Notable Quote:
On future Grizzlies approach:
“We will see now… it’s going to go one way or the other. … We’re about to find out if this kind of coaching can work in 2025. Everybody’s just kind of found robots to coach their teams.” — Chris Vernon (23:54)

2. Fake Ja Morant Trades and Western Conference Crisis Teams

(26:18 - 44:34)
— Guest: Michael Pina

a) Morant Trade Speculation

• Zach rapidly riffs through theoretical Morant destinations: Toronto, Phoenix, Brooklyn, Chicago, Orlando, Washington, Utah—rejects most (“no, they just drafted a million point guards … Bulls are too good now,” etc.).
• Eyes New Orleans and Sacramento as plausible (28:30).
• Pina points out: “Bulls, I love what they’re doing. But if I only have to give up Kobe White who I’m probably not going to re-sign anyway and Zach Collins’ expiring contract, I’m going to probably consider that and maybe do it.” (40:57)
• Zach LOATHES this:
  “I hate it. I hate it. I want to apologize to Chicago fans … I cosign none of that.” (41:21)

b) The Three-Team Mess in the West: Pelicans, Kings, Grizzlies

• New Orleans labeled “biggest catastrophe in the league” — team has “basically given up on Willie Green” (32:09).
• Asset mangling: trading picks to draft Derrick Queen, who now has immense pressure on development (“he has to be, he has to be at least doing what like Khan Kenippel is doing…”) (33:33).
• Pelicans defensive effort mocked:
  — Zach: “If you tried to play discombobulated defense, just every possible miscommunication you could imagine is happening in Pelicans games.” (34:52)

c) Kings as the “Obvious” Ja Morant Trade Team

• Zach: “That’s just the one that I had. … It’s almost too convenient for me to build Kings trades with Ja Morant. … They’re the most obvious team.” (43:25)
• Pina: “They’re too obvious. It’s like a hat on a hat. And it’s also so depressing to imagine him on a team with Dennis Schroder.” (43:34)

3. Rapid-Fire: Western Conference First Impressions

(44:34 - 79:40) A whirlwind of early takeaways, burning questions, and player notes across West teams.

a) Los Angeles Lakers

• 5–2, #8 offense, #17 defense; thrive despite LeBron minutes limits.
• Austin Reaves and Luka “make a lot of sense offensively… A dangerous team.” (45:52)
• Pina: “Luka… probably the MVP of the league right now. … Austin Reaves is looking like one of the best offensive players in basketball.” (45:52)

b) Thunder & Nuggets

• Thunder: “Their level of connectivity on offense is just outrageous. … Teams cannot keep up with their offense.” (48:49)
• Nuggets: “Look like Denver to me. … Jokic looks like Jokic to me. … The bench is better, but not that much better. … Cam Johnson, I just want to see it. That’s all.” (50:36)
• Jokic’s transition play and passing astound again—“He just wound up and threw an 85 foot pass that hit somebody in stride for a layup.” (54:13)

c) Portland Trail Blazers

• “Ferocious, fun team whose offense is going to limit their ceiling.”
• Pina praises Kamara (“most annoying—i.e. best—perimeter defender in the league”) and Drew Holiday’s on-court leadership, not just culture (“He’s averaging 18 points on 48% shooting, 8.5 assists…”) (62:01)

d) Clippers

• Negative point differential, especially with both Kawhi and Harden.
• Team is “blah… Something isn’t translating.” (65:56)
• Pina: “The starting five is allowing 131 points per 100 possessions.”
• Both note the Beal fit feels perfunctory and the identity is missing. “They just look a little bit blah.” (71:29)

e) Minnesota Timberwolves

• Ant’s injury clouds judgment.
• Gobert’s advanced metrics good (“with Gobert on the court… number two in the league defense”), but eye test not so kind.
• Dillingham not yet trusted, Nas Reed inconsistent. “This is just a mystery box team for me right now.” (74:28)

4. News and Sidebars: Hawks Without Trae Young

(80:00 - 85:24)

• Trey Young injured, out for four weeks.
• Zach: “If the Hawks discover life without Trae is livable… It could be the defining moment for the Trae Young-Atlanta Hawks experience.” (82:00)
• Pina: “I want to see Jalen Johnson assume even more offensive responsibility… This is, kind of, a pseudo-referendum on just the identity of this team.” (84:07)

5. Memorable Non-Basketball: Best Sports Games/Finishes Ever

(85:24 - 99:39)

• Zach relives Game 7 of the Dodgers-Blue Jays World Series:
  “That game on Saturday night, that’s a top 10 game of sports I’ve ever seen.” (85:24)
• Both riff on legendary, high-tension neutral viewing experiences: CAVS-Warriors 2016, Red Sox-Yankees 2004, Super Bowl XXXIV’s final tackle, old World Cup and Olympic games, etc.
• Notable Quote:
  “It has to be at a game where, like a finals elimination game, to really reach this level of excruciating tension.” — Zach (98:46)

Notable Quotes & Moments (w/ Timestamps)

• On Ja’s value to Memphis:
  “He’s their guy… He puts asses in the seats… the future of the franchise depends on getting him on board and making him a part of this.” — Chris Vernon (20:20)
• Zach, on Ja’s “noise”:
  “Can we just have some calm and some winning over a more extended period of time?” (16:01)
• On new Memphis coach’s approach:
  “I walk in, I said, you’re not doing— you’re holding the team back… And the worst thing that happens is the player gets pissed off at you for a couple of hours… After I started doing it, we won 80% of our games in Germany.” — Vernon relaying coach’s philosophy (06:50)
• On New Orleans disaster:
  “Easily them not having their first round pick this year, starting off the way they did, basically giving up on Willie Green… biggest catastrophe in the league.” — Michael Pina (32:09)
• On Lakers new guard duo:
  “Austin Reaves is looking like one of the best offensive players in basketball…” — Michael Pina (45:52)

Important Timestamps

• Ja Morant/Memphis crisis deep-dive: 00:50 - 24:19
• Fake Trades and Western crisis teams: 26:18 - 44:34
• Lakers/Thunder/Nuggets reactions: 44:34 - 53:04
• Blazers/Clippers/Wolves: 56:19 - 76:40
• Hawks & other news: 80:00 - 85:24
• All-time great sports games tangent: 85:24 - 99:39

Tone, Style & Final Notes

• Lowe and his guests blend candid basketball analysis with a sense of humor (“I want to apologize to Chicago fans… I cosign none of that. I endorse none of it.”).
• There’s a focus on context—not just numbers or highlight plays but team dynamics, city sentiment, and what specific changes (like new coaches) really mean.
• The pod draws a clear thematic connection between Memphis’ coaching “litmus test” and broader Western Conference volatility—a sense all these stories matter because they shape the NBA’s next dramatic chapter.

Recommended for any fan who wants both incisive X’s & O’s and the visceral storylines making the NBA must-watch theater.