Live from Southern California. This is the Jim Rome Show. But we begin with

Jamaran. Now Jaa is imminently likable.

Jomorant has flare, he's got charisma and he's got a game to go along with it.

Jomorant doesn't look like anybody in the NBA.

His hair is interesting.

His look is interesting.

He fights it like a fly weight level and yet flies through the air with such acrobatic nature.

It's hard to keep your eye off of him. Can he keep doing this for his entire career,

thrusting himself to the basket, banging into bigger, stronger guys, hitting the ground as much?

Maybe not. But at this point in time, John Merant is easily one of the most

marketable and interesting stars in the NBA. There's a long career to come

hopefully and one of the great things about the NBA is they have

figured out unlocked a way to market guys that don't plan huge markets. They can

promote and market a star in Memphis.

And that's a beautiful part about the NBA has unlocked in terms of this interest, the marketability, the Q-rating, the popularity for all teams in all cities

nationwide, not just New York, not just LA, not just the big brands.

Now, Johnny's to win something before he can really be put in the pantheon,

but in terms of young stars, he's as interesting and as cool to watch as it gets.

And he's not afraid to throw punches in terms of verbal sparring, to talk about how good he thinks

his own team is, that they have arrived and the Grizzlies

nearly did knock off the would be champions the Golden State Warriors in that great

playoff series ultimately where they left where they lost

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