Last night it was confirmed that Ja Morant will miss two more weeks as he continues to recover from a left UCL sprain. Morant was in his ramp-up period before the All-Star break but is still experiencing discomfort. Other news for the Grizzlies includes Kentavious Caldwell-Pope missing time due to surgery for a right pinky misalignment.
Ja Morant has appeared in only 20 games so far this season and will not reach 50 games played. His re-evaluation date at the two-week mark will be March 4th. The latest injury update would put him in line to miss seven more games at the very least. Even before he gets re-evaluated, the absolute most games Morant would be able to play in this season would be 42, just over half of the season.
One of Morant's goals heading into the season was to play all 82 regular season games, but he won't come close to reaching the 65-game threshold needed for NBA awards.
Morant has just not played enough the last few seasons
In a three-year period, the most Morant could play is 101 out of a possible 246 regular season games. This doesn't take into consideration that Morant could still miss more games after he gets re-evaluated again in March. In a perfect world, Morant would be able to stay healthy and perform at a high level; however, it is simply too difficult to rely on him to play consistently.
Morant does not deserve the only blame for the Grizzlies' inability to take the next step after the 2021-22 season. However, his lack of ability is a major obstacle for a team trying to win more games. Any team beyond just Memphis that is missing one of their stars for that many games will win significantly less.
It is understandable from Morant's perspective to want an extension with a team and city that he loves. Morant is also still rightfully one of the most beloved players in franchise history. However, Memphis, as they enter a rebuild, needs to be careful with who they are committing their biggest contracts to. In order to build a winner, stars have to be consistently healthy, and Morant has not been able to stay healthy in the last few seasons.
The hope is still for Ja Morant to return this season and have a strong finish to the year. Ultimately, the best ability is availability, and it is understandable that the organization wants to go in another direction.