The Memphis Grizzlies are set to get Ja Morant back in the lineup after a 25-game suspension.
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Before gaining final clearance to return to game action, the superstar guard will meet with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver this week. He will likely play his first game this season on Dec. 19 when the Grizzlies take on the New Orleans Pelicans.
Silver told reporters before the NBA in-season tournament championship game in Las Vegas that the league had been in regular contact with Morant while expressing a belief he'd done everything needed to be cleared to play when the suspension ended.
"Yes, I have been monitoring the situation closely, and him. In fact, we intend to have a check-in this week directly, Ja and I," Silver told reporters in Las Vegas via ESPN. "But folks in the league office, together with Ja and his team and the Players Association, have been in regular contact, essentially weekly. 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. 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."
Morant is coming off a season averaging 26.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 8.1 assists but was left off All-NBA honors after his gun-related controversy late in the season involving a video from a Denver nightclub, resulting in an eight-game suspension. The Grizzlies superstar received a 25-game suspension after an Instagram Live broadcast showed him brandishing a firearm in the offseason.
The Grizzlies will surely appreciate gaining Morant back into the lineup amid a 6-15 record entering Monday's matchup against the Dallas Mavericks. The team has dealt with no shortage of injuries, including season-ending ailments to Steven Adams and Brandon Clarke.
Despite not having Morant in the lineup, the Grizzlies still rank 13th in the Western Conference standings and trail the Houston Rockets, LA Clippers, and Pelicans for a spot in the play-in tournament by five games.
