Adam Silver Briefly Addresses If 'Sending A Message' Is Factored Into Ja Morant's Punishment

Before Game 3 of the 2023 NBA Finals between the Denver Nuggets and Miami Heat, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver briefly spoke about Ja Morant's situation during "NBA Countdown."

Silver clarified the idea of "sending a message" with Morant's punishment when sports journalist and TV personality Stephen A. Smith brought up the topic.

Smith asked Silver, "When you consider the kind of decision you're expected to hand down, it doesn't seem like it will be just about Ja Morant. You want to make sure to send a message to the League itself; certain things will and will not be tolerated. Can you speak to that at all?"

Silver said he "thinks that's right" but wants to be "careful" about that thought.

"My job is to measure that individual's conduct at that moment, and I get a little nervous when people talk about sending a message," he said.

"Because sometimes it implies you may not be, are being fair to that individual player. But there's no question in this league that there's something called conduct detrimental to the league, and it's not just conduct that may be negative. We want to portray a positive image in terms of our players in this league, so that's something I take into account."

Shortly after the second Instagram Live, where Morant, 23, is seen flashing a firearm happened in mid-May, the league suspended the Memphis Grizzlies star from all team activities. An investigation was launched into the video, and before Game 1 of the NBA Finals, Silver addressed the research.

"In assessing what discipline is appropriate, if that's the case, we look at both the history of prior acts and and individual player's history as w the seriousness, of course, of the conduct, so those are all the things that get factored," he said.

"It's not an exact science. It comes down to judgment at the end of the day for me and my colleagues in the league office."

Silver said that while the league has concluded, they won't be announcing it at this time because the timing isn't right.

"In terms of the timing, we've uncovered a fair amount of additional information since I was asked about the situation; I would say we probably could've brought it to a head now, but we made the decision, and I believe the Players Association agrees with us that it would be unfair to these players and these teams in the middle of the series to announce the results of that investigation," he revealed.

"And given that we're in the off-season, he's been suspended by the Memphis Grizzlies indefinitely so that nothing would have changed for the next few weeks. It seemed better to park that at the moment, at least any public announcement, and my sense now is that shortly after the finals, we will announce the outcome of that investigation."

NBA fans, sports journalists, and anyone following Morant's situation have been speculating how long the suspension could be. Some think half of next season, others believe the entire season, and some feel it will be a highly calculated amount.

Wojnarowski recently shared his thoughts on how many games Morant could be suspended for a while, speaking with sports journalist Malika Andrews on ESPN.

Wojnarowski said Silver was "very intentional in his words" when discussing the situation with the press.

"I think, when you start to look at possible lengths of suspension, and that's what we're talking about, he's going to be suspended," he said.

"I think an interesting number to look at is 17 because now the NBA, at its disposal, has a new rule that a player has to play 65 games in the regular season to be eligible for postseason awards. And so, for Ja Morant, 17 games off the top immediately, or 18 games would make him ineligible for postseason awards."

He also said that people wouldn't be able to say that Silver went "too lightly" with the punishment this time.

"Wherever that number lands, I think it's going to be certainly a significant part of the Grizzlies season, of Ja Morant's season, and listen, it cost them, I think, ultimately last year as a team, it cost him, very likely All-NBA," he said.

"There's just not a lot of empathy around the NBA, and I think there's even pressure from some teams to deal fairly harshly with Ja Morant."