Ja Morant’s return to the court might be further away than anticipated.
During an appearance on Friday’s installment of “First Take,” ESPN senior NBA writer Brian Windhorst explained why he believes the Grizzlies star is looking at a “significant suspension” after he was seen holding a firearm on social media twice over the span of two months.
Windhorst was reacting to a statement by NBA commissioner Adam Silver, who said on Thursday that the league “uncovered a fair amount of additional information” in its investigation into a second gun incident involving Morant — adding that it will withhold releasing the results until after the NBA Finals.
“I’ve never heard anything like it,” Windhorst said. “It was very unusual.
“He basically said, ‘I know what I’m going to do but I’m not going to announce it now.’ The second part is that he’s working alongside the players’ association on this. He’s obviously bringing them along side by side. Trust me, typically the players’ association isn’t there as the discipline is being decided on and dolled out.
“So this is a situation that is wide-ranging and quite frankly, the indication here is that this is going to be a significant suspension.”
Windhorst went on to speculate that the outcome of Silver and the players’ association’s decision could be unprecedented in the NBA.
“The tone and the tenor and the fact that the players’ association is involved does not indicate this is going to be similar to something we’ve seen before,” he said.
“And I also think Adam Silver expecting there to be a lot of reaction to what he does. He doesn’t want to be a storyline during the Finals. So take all of that under advisement when you consider what’s headed for Ja Morant.”
Silver addressed a number of hot-button topics while speaking to reporters prior to Denver’s 104-93 Game 1 win against the Heat on Thursday — including a separate investigation into referee Eric Lewis being linked to a burner account on Twitter.
“We’ve uncovered a fair amount of additional information,” Silver told reporters of Morant.
“We probably could have brought it to a head now, but we’ve made the decision that it would be unfair to these players and these teams to announce that decision in the middle of this series.”
Silver’s statement came a week after the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office in Tennessee sent police to Morant’s home for a welfare check after the 23-year-old shared concerning messages on his Instagram Story that were later deleted.
A spokesperson told TMZ Sports that Morant “is fine” following his posts, which included photos of his family and one message that read: “Bye.”
Morant reportedly told police the messages were a reference to him taking a break from social media.
Morant is currently suspended indefinitely from all Grizzlies team activities after appearing to flash a gun while in a car in a May 13 Instagram Live video.
It marked the second time Morant brandished a weapon on social media in less than three months.
In a separate Instagram Live on March 4 at the Shotgun Willie’s strip club in Glendale, Colo., following a Grizzlies loss to the Nuggets in Denver, he was seen holding a gun.
Morant previously served an eight-game suspension without pay and issued a public apology.
He also attended a short counseling program in Florida and then rejoined the Grizzlies afterward.
Meanwhile, on Thursday’s installment of “First Take” — which follows “Get Up” in ESPN’s morning programming — Kendrick Perkins weighed in on the situation.
“It might be best for him to actually get out of Memphis and go to a different organization for his own well-being,” Perkins said of Morant.
Morant signed a five-year rookie maximum extension with the Grizzlies in 2022 worth up to $231 million.