Adam Silvers Messages To Ja Morant Causes Fans To Lament On…

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said that he plans to have an individual check-in
withMemphis Grizzlies
guard Ja Morant
this coming week ahead
of his potential return from a 25-game suspension later this month.

“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 said during his
news conference ahead of the in-season tournament’s championship game at
T-Mobile Arena Saturday night. “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 was suspended for 25 games for conduct detrimental to the league back
in June after a video on social media circulated in May showing him brandishing
a firearm, after he’d been suspended eight games in March after he was on
Instagram Live holding up a handgun while at a Denver nightclub.

When Morant was suspended, Silver wrote in the statement announcing it that,
“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.”

Memphis, which has gone 6-15 to start this season, currently sits in a tie for
13th in the Western Conference standings and will play its 25th game on Dec. 18
in Oklahoma City against the Thunder — meaning Morant, presuming things go as
expected, will be eligible to return on Dec. 19 in New Orleans againstZion
Williamson and
theNew Orleans Pelicans

Without Morant, the Grizzlies were a non-factor in the in-season tournament,
finishing 0-4. But the leaguewide buzz has been positive.

And Silver, not surprisingly — after years of advocating for his league to
adopt a tournament during the regular season, like ones that are held in
European soccer and basketball leagues — said he was pleased by the way the
tournament has played out, and the way it has been embraced by players, coaches
and fans.

Part of what has caused the players to embrace the tournament is the financial
incentive. Each player on the winning team gets $500,000, with $200,000 going
to players on the losing team in the title game, $100,000 to the semifinal
losers and $50,000 to the quarterfinal losers.

When asked if a financial incentive could be used as a carrot to improve other
events — like the All-Star Game and Slam Dunk Contest, Silver expressed
skepticism that would work.

“I’m pleasantly surprised that guys are not dismissing (the cash incentive)
and saying, this isn’t something real,” Silver said. “And look, this is a
business. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with money being a motivator in
certain cases. I will say, we’ve learned over the years in terms of the
All-Star Game, as we’ve experimented with different formats and different
incentives, money alone has not made the difference there, which I think is why
some of the cynics were saying it wouldn’t here.

“In terms of the interest we are seeing around the in-season tournament, I
don’t think it was just the money. I think it was the competition, in part. I
think it was coming to Vegas. I think it was all of those things that made the
difference. On the Slam Dunk, you’re familiar with