Southwest Notes: Morant, Smart, Cuban, Rockets, More

With Ja Morant poised to return from his 25-game suspension on Tuesday night vs. New Orleans, the Grizzlies‘ season is on the brink, as Morant’s absence and a plethora of injuries have created what Derrick Rose referred to as a “quagmire situation,” according to Baxter Holmes and Tim MacMahon of ESPN. As Holmes and MacMahon detail, “frustration has simmered” within the organization about the direction of the season, which has opened with 19 losses in 25 games.

But Morant’s teammates were all smiles on Monday as they discussed the point guard’s impending return, per Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. The club’s top two scorers this season, Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr., have faced a level of defensive attention they’re not accustomed to, and they’re looking forward to sharing the court with a player like Morant, who will be able to divert much of that attention.

“(Morant) is going to have to deal with that,” Jackson said. “He’s going to have to turn left and turn right and see three dudes so that I can do what I do. He’s an All-NBA, Hall of Fame-type player, so you’re going to have to pay attention and if you do that, we’re going to punish you.”

Although Morant hasn’t suited up for the Grizzlies since April, the club has been ramping up his workload in practice and doesn’t anticipate imposing any real limitations on his playing time in his return, Cole notes.

“He’s going to play pretty significant minutes,” head coach Taylor Jenkins said. “… I won’t anticipate going crazy with his minutes, but I don’t think it’s any kind of restriction.”

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

• Grizzlies guard Marcus Smart, who hasn’t played since November 14 due to a left foot sprain, is getting very close to returning to action, Cole writes in another Commercial Appeal story. “Marcus is really close,” Jenkins said. “… Somewhere in that Indiana (Thursday) and Atlanta (Saturday) time frame, we’re hopeful that he’ll be back in the lineup then.”
• Following up on the Mavericks‘ sale ahead of the Board of Governors vote, Marc Stein says on Substack that Mark Cuban will retain a 27% stake in the franchise. Stein indicates that the new owners – the Miriam Adelson/Patrick Dumont group – will therefore have a 73% controlling interest, but there have been conflicting reports on whether every single one of the minority stakeholders are being bought out.
• The Rockets‘ closing lineup has been far less predictable than its starting group, according to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required), who examines head coach Ime Udoka‘s tendency to go with the hot hands down the stretch of games. “That’s what I believe in,” Udoka said. “I pretty much said that the day I was hired. Minutes and roles are not going to be handed out. The guys that are playing well and units that are playing well are going to get those minutes. I think everybody knows that across the board.”
• William Guillory of The Athletic takes a look at the similarities between Pelicans forward Zion Williamson and Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama, two No. 1 picks who were expected to be saviors for their respective Southwest clubs as soon as they entered the NBA, exploring how they’ve dealt with those expectations.