Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies was handed a eight match ban by the NBA for displaying a firearm at a club in suburban Denver earlier this month.
Ja Morant will be back with the Memphis Grizzlies next week, after the NBA handed the All-Star guard an eight-game suspension without pay on Wednesday and saying his displaying a firearm at a club in suburban Denver earlier this month was 바카라conduct detrimental to the league.바카라 (More Basketball News)
Morant missed his sixth consecutive game when the Grizzlies played in Miami on Wednesday night. He will miss the next two games 바카라 at San Antonio on Friday and home against Golden State on Saturday 바카라 then be eligible to return on Monday when Memphis plays Dallas, though he is not expected to play that night.
The games he already missed will count toward the suspension, and Morant will forfeit about $669,000 in salary.
바카라Ja바카라s conduct was irresponsible, reckless and potentially very dangerous,바카라 NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. 바카라It also has serious consequences given his enormous following and influence, particularly among young fans who look up to him.바카라
Silver met with Morant in New York before announcing the league바카라s decision. Other league officials, as well as representatives from the National Basketball Players Association, were part of that meeting.
Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said he doesn바카라t expect Morant to play Monday, saying the team is 바카라going to be respectful of the time off he바카라s had.바카라
바카라There will be a quick ramp-up period after that,바카라 Jenkins said. 바카라Obviously, he hasn바카라t been playing basketball for almost two weeks now.바카라
The league바카라s investigation, which started almost immediately after the March 4 incident in which Morant livestreamed himself on Instagram, found that he was 바카라holding a firearm in an intoxicated state바카라 바카라 but did not prove that the gun was owned by Morant 바카라or was displayed by him beyond a brief period.바카라
The league investigation also did not find that Morant had the gun with him on Memphis바카라 flight to Denver, or that he possessed the gun while in any NBA facility. Police in Colorado said last week that they looked into the circumstances surrounding the video and concluded that there was no reason to charge Morant with a crime.
Morant spoke with ESPN for an interview that was to air later Wednesday night, and said the gun was not his.
바카라He has expressed sincere contrition and remorse for his behavior,바카라 Silver said. 바카라Ja has also made it clear to me that he has learned from this incident and that he understands his obligations and responsibility to the Memphis Grizzlies and the broader NBA community extend well beyond his play on the court.바카라
The Grizzlies played at Denver on March 3. At 5:19 a.m. the next day, Morant started a livestream from inside a strip club called Shotgun Willies in Glendale, Colorado. The video quickly went viral, and trouble escalated.
The Grizzlies initially said Morant would miss at least two games. Hours later, Morant said in a statement distributed through the agency that represents him that he takes 바카라full responsibility바카라 for his actions and that he was going to 바카라take some time away to get help.바카라 ESPN reported that Morant sought counseling at a facility in Florida; Jenkins said Wednesday that 바카라the Florida piece is done for now.바카라
바카라There바카라s going to be ongoing stuff over the next couple days that he바카라s going to be probably be working on,바카라 Jenkins said.
The two-game absence was followed by the team announcing last week that Morant would miss at least four more games, a stretch that concludes Wednesday.
바카라Now we know the plan moving forward,바카라 Jenkins said.
Morant, a two-time All-Star, is averaging 27.1 points and 8.2 assists per game this season for a Memphis team that entered Wednesday in the No. 2 spot in the Western Conference.
This marked at least the second time in recent weeks that Morant was the subject of a league investigation. Morant바카라s actions were investigated after a Jan. 29 incident in Memphis that he said led to a friend of his being banned from home games for a year.
That incident followed a game against the Indiana Pacers; citing unnamed sources, The Indianapolis Star and USA Today reported that multiple members of the Pacers saw a red dot pointed at them, and The Athletic reported that a Pacers security guard believed the laser was attached to a gun.
The NBA confirmed that unnamed individuals were banned from the arena but said its investigation found no evidence that anyone was threatened with a weapon.
Morant and a close friend also are involved in a civil lawsuit brought after an incident at Morant바카라s home last summer, in which a 17-year-old alleged that they assaulted him.
바카라I don바카라t condone any type of violence,바카라 Morant said in the ESPN interview. 바카라But I take full responsibility for my actions. I made a bad mistake and I can see the image that I painted over myself with my recent mistakes. But in the future, I바카라m going to show everybody who Ja really is, what I바카라m about and change this narrative.바카라
And when Morant returns, the team knows there will be questions, as well as likely some hostile comments coming in road arenas. The Grizzlies plan to prepare Morant for those moments as best they can.
바카라We sit down and talk to him and we help guide him through this process,바카라 Jenkins said. 바카라That바카라s going to be our focal point, on the court, off the court. Support and accountability, that바카라s what we바카라re focused on, not just in this recent couple of weeks but moving forward. Obviously things are going to be different, but it바카라s going to be great to have him back with the team. The team바카라s going to be able to rally around him as he바카라s been rallying around a difficult situation. We바카라re going to take it one day at a time.바카라