Sidelined by the Grizzlies since the episode of the Instagram video in which he showed himself with a weapon in a bar in Colorado, Ja Morant had to wait for the sanction of the NBA to have more visibility concerning a potential return : it has just fallen.
8 game suspension, without pay.
This is what the League decided to inflict on the Grizzlies superstar for “behavior going to the detriment of the league”. The news was released this Wednesday evening by Adrian Wojnarowski ofESPNwhich had also announced a few minutes earlier that Morant and the NBA commissioner had met in New York today to discuss his recent behavior.
The NBA is suspending Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant for eight games without pay for conduct detrimental to the league, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 15, 2023
If we are to believe the results of the investigation conducted by the NBA the last days :
- the gun we see in the video is not Morant’s, or in any case there are not enough elements to say with certainty that it belongs to Morant, that the player brought it to him – even in a nightclub, and that he appeared with for an extended period;
- Ja Morant was not in possession of the weapon in question while traveling with his team and at NBA facilities.
Ja Morant therefore avoids an extended suspension, some mentioning in recent days the possibility that he will take 50 games by the NBA like Gilbert Arenas at the time.
The NBA says that the games Grizzlies star Ja Morant has already missed will count as part of his eight-game suspension, making him eligible to return Monday at home against Dallas. The league’s full statement on its Morant investigation: pic.twitter.com/TG6lnkSSPm
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) March 15, 2023
Very important info to keep in mind: all five meetings missed by Ja Morant since the incident are part of the eight-game suspension, which means that Ja can theoretically play again on March 20 against the Mavericks. Nevertheless, it will probably take a little longer before Morant finds the floors.
Also according to the Woj, Ja did not touch the orange ball during his (quick) stay in Florida, where he attended a psychological support program. Program which he has now left to gradually return to the courts after an absence of more than ten days. So there’s a mini fitness process that Morant has to go through before he can play again.
It remains to be seen how the Grizzlies will manage this future return, which should take place during the last ten days of March.
Morant hadn’t been playing basketball while at a counseling center in Florida, so his ramp up is expected to extend past Monday’s game vs. Dallas when he’s first eligible to return, sources tell ESPN. It’s expected that he’ll return to play shortly thereafter.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 15, 2023
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Source texte : ESPN, NBA