Adam Silver says he plans to speak directly with Ja Morant before his return to play
Ja Morant has served 21 games of his 25-game suspension for flashing a gun on social media for a second time. His suspension is set to be up and he could return to the Memphis Grizzlies on Dec. 19, and he has been practicing with the team to return on that date.
However, before that happens, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and Morant will talk. When the suspension came down, it was not just the 25 games, but Morant was also "required to formulate and fulfill a program with the league that directly addresses the circumstances that led him to repeat this destructive behavior."
"We intend to have a check-in this week directly, Ja and I," Silver said, speaking to the media before the In-Season Tournament championship game. "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."
The Grizzlies need him back. Memphis has gone 6-15 to start the season without their leading scorer and offensive creator, and they have the 29th-ranked offense in the league. It has been more than just Morant being out — the Grizzlies miss injured centers Steven Adams and Brandon Clarke as well — but they have dug themselves a hole that, even with Morant, this team will have to fight to make the play-in.
It appears they will have him back to make that run in nine days.
