The NBA has suspended Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant for 25 games due to “conduct detrimental to the league” the commissioner announced Friday.
Morant was last seen brandishing a gun in an Instagram Live video for the second time in a little over a 2 month period. The second incident came on the heels of an initial 8 game suspension from an off court incident in March.
“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,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. “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.”
“For Ja, basketball needs to take a back seat at this time,” Silver continued. “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’s suspension also comes with a variety of conditions for his return, including counselling, and off court requirements before he can be reinstated. The star guard will be ineligible to participate in team activities, or preseason games while he sits out.
The heavy handed approach was widely expected by many basketball insiders, with rumblings that Silver felt personally betrayed by the blatant disregard of the consequences of Ja’s actions the first time around. Sources indicate that the NBA commissioner believed that Ja was genuine in his regret when the two spoke following the March incident. Which is why Silver was shocked to see Morant’s carelessness on social media only a few weeks later.
With the 23 year old’s rookie max-deal kicking in this year, Morant will forfeit approximately $7.6M in salary while he sits out the start of the 2023-24 campaign. That sum is simply his NBA game check figures, and doesn’t represent any potential losses from sponsors which could still occur. This is on top of the $668,659 he’s already forgone due to his 8 game ban last season.
Amongst his many endorsement deals, the most prominent ones are multi-year agreements with Nike and Powerade. At the moment neither organization has issued any kind of statement on their future with the embattled Memphis star.
Last year’s suspension also had a massive financial impact on Morant due to an All-NBA clause he had built into his upcoming deal. Had the former Murray State standout earned a spot on one of the All-NBA teams, which he almost assuredly would have, his new deal would have been increased from $194M over 5 years, to $233M. A loss of $39M in potential future earnings.
The timing of the announcement was no coincidence, as Silver had indicated in the past that the league would not be making any statements on Ja until after the NBA Finals had wrapped up. With Denver’s parade taking place yesterday, and the NBA Draft just around the corner, a Friday morning news dump seemed like an opportune time to finally address the elephant in the room.
-Kyle Skinner
Twitter: @JKyleSkinner
Photo: Erik Drost. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.