ESPN insiders explain why the NBA suspended Ja Morant 25 games

Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant has been suspended for 25 games by the NBA for brandishing a gun during an Instagram Live video.

The news broke live during First Take, and ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith immediately reacted to the announced suspension.

“Not surprised at all,” Smith said. “I’ve been saying for weeks that it was going to be about 25 games and sure enough, that’s about right. Unfortunately, this is a suspension that Ja Morant deserved.”

As Stephen A. Smith explained, the issue is partially the action. However, a huge part of this also relates to how Ja Morant and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver interacted within the investigation.

“And the suspension that he deserved is not because of the quote-unquote mistakes or his actions or whatever. It’s because it was in the aftermath of him meeting face to face with Adam Silver, assuring Adam Silver that he appreciated the significance and the seriousness of the situation the first go around when he was only suspended eight games, and then turned around and found himself in that position again, which means that Adam Silver felt betrayed by Ja Morant because Ja Morant looked him in the face and told him one thing, and went behind his back and did another and got busted.”

The hope, now, is that Ja Morant is going to be able to learn something from this incident.

“And so there’s a lesson in all of that. You know, we could sit up there and be stars. We can have money, etc, etc, but we all answer to somebody,” Smith said. “And when you answer to other people, what you don’t do is look them in their face and tell them a lie and misrepresent yourself in that way because you’re going to come back and ultimately pay a price for that.”

At this point, NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski joined First Take. There, he explained that there are going to be conditions to his return and that the timing of the suspension allows Memphis to prepare for this season. He also gave insight to Smith about why the NBA chose to suspend Morant for 25 games.

“Well, remember, eight games last season late in the year, and now 25 games. Here’s, and this is new, one jumping-off point that has impact. If you miss 18 games now, there’s a 65-game minimum that players have to play to make All-NBA, to be MVP, to win Defensive Player of the Year. Well, he’s out of consideration now, Ja Morant is, for any of those postseason awards. That will click in with this new collective bargaining agreement,” Wojnarowski said.

“You know, you look at the Miles Bridges suspension in Charlotte. 30 games. You’ve codified some precedent here, and for the league, the player’s association, if this was half the season, if this was the entire season, different scenarios, there wouldn’t have been precedent for that. But, your history does matter. Ja Morant has been under investigation by the NBA for well over a year on a number of different incidents. They went through it last season with the gun situation in the Denver nightclub, and again his career, his future as the face of this league is in peril if his behavior doesn’t change. I think they’re starting to see things in Memphis that give them some hope, some confidence that it will, but Ja Morant through his actions is going to have to show this over time.”