Adam Silver Will Speak To Ja Morant As He Nears End Of 25-Game Suspension

Silver said, "we will review the program and make sure the conditions are in place for him to be successful going forward."

Memphis Grizzlies suspended player Ja Morant is coming to the end of the 25-game suspension handed him for being seen for a second time on social media brandishing a handgun. The Grizzlies’ 26th game of the season will take place on Tuesday, Dec. 19, making Morant eligible to come off the suspension list and able to play. ESPN has reported that NBA Commissioner Adam Silver would speak to Morant before the time comes for him to be a regular player in the league again.

Before the conclusion of the NBA In-Season Tournament that the Los Angeles Lakers just won over the weekend, the commissioner updated reporters on Morant’s progress amid his suspension. He did elaborate that Morant checks in with the league weekly, and the next time, Morant will be meeting exclusively with him.

“Yes, I have been monitoring the situation closely, and him. In fact, we intend to have a check-in this week directly, Ja Morant and I,” Silver said on Saturday, Dec. 9, before the Lakers played against the Indiana Pacers at T-Mobile Arena. “But folks in the league office, together with Ja and his team and the Players Association, have been in regular contact, essentially weekly. There have been those checkpoints.

“We’ve, together, laid out a program for him over the last several weeks, and to the best of my knowledge, he’s complied with everything he’s been asked to do. As I said, we’ll talk at least once this week before he comes back, and we will review the program and make sure the conditions are in place for him to be successful going forward.”

It was revealed in October that although suspended, Morant would be allowed to practice and travel with the Grizzlies while he serves out his punishment.

Earlier this year, in June, the NBA suspended the All-Star guard for the first 25 games of the 2023–24 season, penalized for an incident where Morant was seen on Instagram Live flashing a gun. That was the second time he was captured on social media with a firearm in his hand. The 23-year-old was initially suspended for eight games back in March following an incident where he was seen with a gun on an Instagram Live video at a Denver nightclub. Morant received his latest suspension after he was seen on a friend’s Instagram feed holding what appeared to be a gun a month before the suspension was given.

Without Morant, the Grizzles have started the season 6-15 and are in 13th place in the Western Conference.