What suspension does Ja Morant deserve from NBA after his latest gun incident?

Somehow, it happened again.

The NBA world woke up Sunday to a video and image of Ja Morant holding up a gun on Instagram Live from the passenger seat of a car, just like the NBA world woke up on the morning of March 4 to Morant holding up a gun on Instagram Live from a Denver area strip club.

The reaction has been swift. The Memphis Grizzlies suspended Morant from all team activities pending a review by the NBA. The ramifications of what comes next could alter the course of next season, and perhaps the future of the franchise.

Given all that, The Commercial Appeal decided to reconvene an emergency session of its Grizzlies roundtable with beat writer Damichael Cole and sports columnist Mark Giannotto to debate the fallout from this latest Morant misstep.

1) What punishment does Ja Morant deserve from the NBA?

Giannotto: This isn’t straightforward. Morant has still yet to be charged with a crime. But this also isn’t a legal issue for the NBA. It’s a contractual one. It falls under the ambiguous conduct detrimental to the league clause in the NBA collective bargaining agreement. Commissioner Adam Silver has wide latitude to act on that, and he's likely to come down hard this time after handing Morant a relatively lenient eight-game suspension in March. He should considering how many times now Morant’s off-court behavior has become an issue. Anything over 25 games would feel harsh. Anything else seems fair game.

Cole: The NBA has been clear about its punishment toward people who have behavioral history. After Morant's first gun incident, he now has history. The league won't be as lenient this time, and a suspension at least twice the length of the first one of eight games should be expected.

2) Should a lengthy suspension change the Grizzlies’ offseason plans?

Cole: It's tough because there's an entire ripple effect. Tyus Jones is built to step in and hold the fort, but he is also the best trade chip remaining in Memphis to acquire a small forward. In short, yes, this does change the Grizzlies' offseason approach. Memphis should still dangle Jones in trade talks, but now the list of potential small forward acquisitions should get shorter, because Jones is even more important in Memphis.

Giannotto: Not unless they’re planning to trade Morant because of this latest episode (and they shouldn’t be planning that). If the Grizzlies were going to try to trade Jones to help get Dillon Brooks’ replacement before this weekend, they should still do so. You can find another back-up point guard to fill in for Morant in the short term, if need be. This year’s playoffs showed Memphis has to improve its supporting cast and it must use every asset at its disposal to do so. The Grizzlies would be short-sighted to waver on that simply because Morant is going to miss the start of the season.

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3) How can Ja Morant repair the damage done to his reputation?

Giannotto: To start: Stop going on Instagram Live and hand over access to all social media accounts to a public relations professional. By simply not putting his behavior on the internet, Morant wouldn't be in this situation. But in the bigger picture, Morant's contrition has lost meaning after what happened this past weekend. He needs to get back to wowing us on the basketball court, not wowing us with his poor decisions off it.

Cole: There are no words he can say now. He sounded remorseful and people were willing to listen in March, but that's not going to roll over as easy this time. It will take time for him to rebuild his image, and that will likely happen through his play on the court over a prolonged period.

4) What approach should the Grizzlies take moving forward?

Cole: No more babysitting. Top-notch accountability must be given from the front office, coaches, and players. General manager Zach Kleiman spoke highly of Morant's improvements two weeks ago, and so did Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins. This is the time for Grizzlies teammates to hold Morant accountable and challenge him to take the step that many in the organization want him to as a leader.

Giannotto:  Stop tiptoeing around the maturity problems Morant must confront. Stop holding him to a different standard than the rest of the organization because he’s a superstar. Stop anointing him a leader when his actions scream he’s anything but that right now. In essence, demote him and make him earn back the titles he was given. Same goes for his teammates. Somebody in that locker room – I’d suggest Jaren Jackson Jr. or Desmond Bane – needs to ensure Morant understands how much he let down this team in recent months.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Ja Morant gun video suspension: What NBA punishment does he deserve?