After weeks of speculation, the NBA finally announced that Ja Morant would be suspended for 25 games to start the 2023-24 season following his second gun incident.
There are also conditions that Ja must meet in order to return to the court as the NBA wants to ensure this does not happen again. Memphis Grizzlies GM Zach Kleiman was asked about the suspension for the first time recently and he felt it was appropriate.
“We’re certainly disappointed with the behavior that transpired as we got into the offseason,” Kleiman said. “I think the discipline from the NBA, I think it was appropriate. The thing to focus on at this point … what’s Ja going to commit to going forward? What are the steps that he’s prepared to take for the NBA to grant the ability to rejoin the team after serving the suspension?”
Kleiman also went on to state that there are many serious steps that Morant has to continue to take from here on.
“I think there’s a lot of healthy dialogue there. I think everyone did acknowledge early on that this was going to be ongoing and Ja wasn’t just going to become the best version of himself overnight. I think there’s many really serious steps he needs to continue to take.”
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Kleiman went on to add that there is no strain in the relationship between Morant and the team. He did state though that Ja has to prove that he is going to set things right and that his words don’t hold much value at the moment.
It is really good to see the Grizzlies being this blunt about the situation here. They, just like the NBA, want to see a change in him. We all saw the statement after the first incident and the fact that he still did it the second time meant his word doesn’t really account for much now.
The NBPA Stated The Suspension Was Excessive And Inappropriate
Not everyone was fine with the suspension, however, as the National Basketball Players Association termed it as excessive and inappropriate. It is understandable that the NBPA wants to support a player but in this case, it doesn’t seem like the punishment is going to be reduced.
If this was after the first incident, then maybe they could have had a real argument, but not after the second one. Stephen A. Smith also stated that it was a 25-game suspension because Morant lied to Commissioner Adam Silver after the first incident.
One just hopes at this point, that Ja takes this suspension seriously and works on improving his mental health and decision-making. In an ideal world, the only conversation about him would be the play on the court, where he averaged 26.2 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 8.1 APG, 1.1 SPG, and 0.3 BPG this past season. Hopefully, in the years to come, that’ll be the only thing we speak about when it comes to Ja.
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