NBA commissioner Adam Silver made the decision this summer to suspend Memphis Grizzlies’ guard Ja Morant for at least the first 25 games of this season. That came after Morant displayed a gun on social media for the second time, something that led to a previous eight-game suspension for him. And that suspension came with a list of conditions before Morant can return, with the earliest possible date for that return being Dec. 19 against the New Orleans Pelicans. And Silver is keeping close tabs on this, and plans to talk to Morant personally this week.
Ahead of the NBA in-season tournament finale Saturday, where the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Indiana Pacers 123-109, Silver spoke to reporters on a variety of issues. And something of particular note was what he had to say about Morant:
“I have been monitoring the situation closely, and him,” Silver said Saturday during a news conference before the final of the in-season tournament. “In fact, we intend to have a check-in this week directly, Ja and I.”
…“Folks in the league office, together with Ja and his team and the players’ association, have been in regular contact, essentially weekly,” Silver said. “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,” Silver said. “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.”
Silver wasn’t very specific on those conditions, but it’s notable to hear him spell out that he plans to meet with Morant personally ahead of that potential return from suspension. It does seem like Morant is on track to return at that earliest possible date, but we’ll see how his meeting with Silver goes.
