Grizzlies get $12.4M disabled player exception for Ja Morant

Field Level Media|published: Wed 24th January, 15:47 2024

Jan 9, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant (12) looks on while wearing his arm in a sling during a time stoppage in the first quarter of the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Memphis Grizzlies at the American Airlines Center. credits: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

The Memphis Grizzlies were granted a $12.4 million disabled player exception by the NBA Wednesday for the season-ending injury suffered by star guard Ja Morant, ESPN reported.

The exception allows the Grizzlies to sign a player to a one-year deal or acquire a player in the final year of his contract. The team has until March 11 to use the exception, per ESPN.

Morant suffered a shoulder subluxation at practice earlier this month, with a subsequent MRI revealing a labral tear. He underwent season-ending surgery.

Morant is expected to make a full recovery ahead of the 2024-25 season.

It will go down as a lost season for the two-time All-Star, who played just nine games in 2023-24.

He began the season by serving a 25-game suspension for a repeated instance of "conduct detrimental to the league." Morant had posed with a gun during a live-streamed video for the second time in a short span.

In five NBA seasons, the former No. 2 overall pick has career averages of 22.5 points, 7.4 assists and 4.8 rebounds per game.

—Field Level Media