When addressing potential discipline for Ja Morant earlier this month, commissioner Adam Silver was asked whether he believed the NBA went far enough in March, when the league suspended Morant for eight games after video surfaced of the Grizzlies guard brandishing a firearm at a Denver nightclub. Less than two months later Morant was at it again, this time in a moving car in Memphis, livestreaming with a handgun raised in the air.
“I guess in hindsight, I don’t know,” Silver said. “If it had been a 12-game suspension instead of an eight-game suspension, would that have mattered?”
Added Silver, “I don’t think we yet know what it will take to change his behavior.”
The NBA announced its latest attempt Friday, suspending Morant for 25 games. In its statement, the league affirmed that Morant “intentionally and prominently displayed a gun while in a car with several other individuals as they were leaving a social gathering in Memphis.” Morant, the NBA said, “wielded the firearm while knowing that he was being recorded and that the recording was being live streamed on Instagram Live, despite having made commitments to the NBA and public statements that he would not repeat the conduct for which he was previously disciplined.”
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“Ja Morant’s decision to once again wield a firearm on social media is alarming and disconcerting given his similar conduct in March for which he was already suspended eight games,” said Silver. “The potential for other young people to emulate Ja’s conduct is particularly concerning. Under these circumstances, we believe a suspension of 25 games is appropriate and makes clear that engaging in reckless and irresponsible behavior with guns will not be tolerated.”
In a separate statement, Morant apologized, vowing to “make it up” to the fans he has disappointed.
“I’m spending the offseason and my suspension continuing to work on my own mental health and decision making,” Morant said. “I’m also going to be training so that I’m ready to go when I can be back on the court.”
Swell. There will be some bellyaching in some corners of Memphis about losing its All-Star guard for nearly a third of the season and Second Amendment zealots on Twitter screaming that legally Morant did nothing wrong. Morant will lose $7.6 million as a result of this suspension, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks, a hefty sum even for a player entering the first year of a five-year, $194 million deal.
But make no mistake: The NBA is cutting Morant a break. In the weeks that followed Morant’s second gun incident, the phone lines at Olympic Tower were burning with rival team officials insisting the league draw a hard line. Morant was given a pass the first time, blew it, and some wanted to see the NBA sideline him for half a season. Or longer.
Silver didn’t. He likes to be collaborative with these decisions. He brought Tamika Tremaglio, the executive director of the NBA Players Association, into his meeting with Morant in March and suggested earlier in the month the union was looped into the NBA’s decision-making process this time around. The statement from the NBA was followed by a statement from the Grizzlies (“We respect the league’s decision to suspend Ja Morant following this latest episode”) and a three-paragraph apology from Morant. Hell, Nike even weighed in. (The union, in a statement released hours after the suspension, did call Morant’s punishment “excessive and inappropriate” and vowed to explore all options.)
Will it make a difference? As Silver noted—it’s unclear what will. Morant’s first suspension cost him a spot on an All-NBA team—and the nearly $40 million salary bump that came with it. A postseason that began with high expectations ended with a first-round flameout. Morant’s response was to roll through the streets of Memphis flashing a firearm while a supposed friend streamed it to the world.
The NBA—Silver, specifically—is willing to give Morant a chance. Morant is central to the future of the NBA, an überathletic scorer who has lifted the small-market Grizzlies into title contention while embracing the city as his own. The NBA—again, Silver specifically—desperately wants Morant to move past these incidents and become a player the league can market to a generation of fans that admire him.
“For Ja, basketball needs to take a back seat at this time,” Silver said. “Prior to his return to play, he will be required to formulate and fulfill a program with the league that directly addresses the circumstances that led him to repeat this destructive behavior.”
Morant caught another break Friday. It’s unlikely that he’ll get a third. He can return to the Grizzlies before midseason and rejoin a conference contender. In a matter of months, this latest incident could be forgotten. It’s entirely up to him.
