NBA commissioner Adam Silver told reporters during a press conference on Thursday that the league won’t announce the results of its latest Ja Morant investigation until after the NBA Finals. However, Silver’s comments seemed to hint that a harsh punishment is on the way for the Grizzlies guard, according to Sam Amick of The Athletic, Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports, and Brian Windhorst of ESPN (Twitter video link), among others.
“It was very unusual for him to basically say, ‘I know what I’m going to do but I’m not going to announce it now,'” Windhorst said on ESPN’s Get Up. “The second part is that he brought up that he’s working alongside the Players Association on this. He’s obviously bringing them along side by side. Trust me, typically the Players Association isn’t there as the discipline is being decided on and doled out.
“So this is a situation that is wide-ranging, and quite frankly, the indication here is that this is going to be a significant suspension. The tone and the tenor and the fact that the Players Association is involved does not indicate this is going to be something similar to what we’ve seen before. And I also think that Adam Silver’s expecting for there to be a lot of reaction to what he does. He doesn’t want it to be a story line during the Finals. So take all of that under advisement as you consider what’s headed for Ja Morant.”
Asked during Thursday’s press conference whether the NBA was too lenient in suspending Morant for eight games earlier this year after a similar viral video in which he flashed a gun, Silver admitted he wasn’t sure, as Amick relays.
“If it had been a 12-game suspension instead of an eight-game suspension, would that have mattered?” Silver said. “… It seemed appropriate at the time. That’s all I can say. Maybe by definition, to the extent we’ve all seen the video that it appears he’s done it again, I guess you could say maybe not.
“But I don’t think we yet know what it will take to change his behavior. (It’s the) same thing I said at the time; he seems to be a fine young man. In terms of my dealings with him, I think he’s clearly made some mistakes, but he’s young, and I’m hoping now —once we conclude at the end of our process what the appropriate discipline is, that it’s not just about the discipline, it’s about now what we, the Players Association, his team and he and the people around him are going to do to create better circumstances going forward.”
Here’s more on the Grizzlies:
- Addressing the Morant situation on Friday at an NBA Cares event in Denver, Silver clarified that the league’s biggest concern at this point is about “gun safety” rather than whether or not any state’s laws are being broken. “I feel across the board, regardless of what people’s individual views are on gun rights, everyone feels firearms should be handled in a safe way, and waving them around or displaying them in a certain context is not consistent with gun safety and is not the proper message that an NBA player, particularly one at Ja’s level, should be sending to the tens of millions of followers he has,” Silver said, per Joe Vardon of The Athletic.
- While Tyus Jones is capable of stepping into the Grizzlies’ starting lineup if Morant is suspended to start the 2023/24 season, the team will likely target a reliable backup point guard or a play-maker at another position this offseason in order to provide additional depth behind Jones, says Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer.
- Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal takes a look at how Desmond Bane continued to evolve and improve in his third NBA season, noting that Bane was solid on defense and made progress toward becoming an “efficient three-level scorer” on offense. Bane will eligible for a rookie scale extension this offseason.
- Denver’s run to the NBA Finals can serve as inspiration for the Grizzlies, according to Mark Giannotto of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. Like the Nuggets with Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, Memphis has a core it wants to build around (Morant, Bane, and Jaren Jackson Jr.) and – barring further off-court setbacks with Morant – can focus on continuing to upgrade its roster around that trio, Giannotto writes.
Silver acting like lebron with this announcement
it seems like Morant will be docked 41 games at least
could be a season long suspend tho
Anything less than half a season would certainly make Silver look foolish here. Between half and a full season is looking like a safer and safer bet.
Okay so maybe 60 games would be a much harsher punishment than the first time and wouldn’t kill the Grizzlies for the year. He could come back for the last 22 games and playoffs. Perhaps better than a full season that I maintained below ? I like the way you think.
He could still recover from this, if he’s finally learned enough to understand what’s at stake.
Sad that he didn’t get that the league was serious after the 1st time, and simply kept from being on Instagram live video.
Imagine being so indoctrinated by the “culture” that you’re willing to throw away Hundreds of Millions of Dollars in order to be “hard”, “gangster” and “hood”. What a fool.
Yeah it really makes you think what exactly will it take for them to learn…
Them ?
I thought this was about Ja Morant? Who exactly are “them” you’re talking about? Please explain.
Them refers to Ja…
Have you not studied english?
I didn’t do very well in English but even a third grader knows THEM means more than one.
You should have used HIM unless you’re speaking of a group, which is what I’m calling out. There is no THEM here.., it’s HIM.
“..what exactly will it take for him to learn.”
All of these Silver quotes are very well said…kudos, Adam
It’s got to be at least a season…
2 seasons would be fair and might actually cause Ja to learn…
He’s already lost a seasons worth in pay and derailed last season and that didn’t work…
There’s no way in bloody hell he gets two seasons !! That being said I think one season has to be the message.
Half a season or 41 games really seems like a second slap on the wrist for a second offense. Has to be a season to me.
I think the key here is the timing of the 2nd offense. To have it happen so soon after the first was basically a middle finger to Silver and the league. For that reason alone, I could see the penalty being on the harsher side even if the league let him off easy the first time around.
On that note, I’m curious as to what other things the league may have found out via their investigation. It’s possible they found additional evidence of Ja essentially spitting in their faces.
A single season is already been lost…
The Grizz were a high seed so should of done well in the playoffs…
And Ja already lost more than a seasons worth in pay…
So a single season isn’t that much more punishment than the first suspension…
Y’all talk about fairness then say the dude should be suspended multiple seasons for something that is not a crime.
It helps if you pay attention here…
The laws of the US are meaningless in this situation…
This is all about the image of the NBA and their laws of employment…
Global companies have more power than regional governments…
I think it’ll be 41 games… a whole season seems extremely considering no laws or anything are broken. As Silver says it’s all about the message of gun safety. First he got what 8 games this time I think half the season seems right.
As much as they will want to punish him they also know it’s a business and Ja playing brings more money. A whole season would be a huge loss in money and have the potential to derail his whole career.
I think half a season seems right
Suspending him is business. NBA doesn’t need Ja. Half a yr basically kills another yr for Grizzlies. We do t know if it was an illegal gun. If it was he should pay the price. By law and a longer suspension.
What’s amusing to me is. How the talking heads say he’s an intelligent young man. That he’s a high IQ player. New money has taken plenty of people down.
Makes little sense…
Unless they say that in shock of what Ja has done…