The Memphis Grizzlies announced guard Ja Morant underwent successful surgery on his right shoulder Thursday and will miss the rest of the 2023-24 campaign.
He is “expected to make a full recovery ahead of the 2024-25 season.”
Ja Morant Suspended from Grizzlies for Possible New Gun Video – The New York Times
Morant last played in Friday’s victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, but the Grizzlies announced Monday he suffered a labral tear and subluxation of his shoulder during a training session Saturday.
The setback means he will only play nine games this season because he was also suspended for 25 contests after a video on Instagram Live showed him brandishing a handgun.
He was also suspended for eight games last season after a video showed him with a gun in a Denver nightclub.
Memphis ran into immediate trouble on the court without its star point guard. It started the 2023-24 campaign with six straight losses and went just 6-19 in the first 25 contests during his suspension.
Yet things seemed to be trending in the right direction when the Grizzlies won their first four games after Morant’s return. There has been more inconsistency from there, but a playoff run was not out of the question as long as the two-time All-Star could stay on the court.
Unfortunately for Memphis, he could not thanks to this injury.
The Grizzlies are just 14-23 and in 13th place in the Western Conference. They are already 4.5 games back of the 10th-seeded Houston Rockets for the final spot in the play-in tournament, and it is difficult to envision them making any type of serious push with Morant sidelined for the rest of the season.
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