The Memphis Grizzlies and Taylor Jenkins are going to have to make do without their superstar once the 2023-24 NBA season starts. Adam Silver and the league have given Ja Morant a 25-game suspension. This means that they are going to have to explore the team's roster depth at the guard position a little bit more. Players like Marcus Smart get to step up and possibly gun for an All-Star spot. Others get to prove themselves as solid rotational players that might get playing time in the playoffs. All of this will happen just in time for a sweet Christmas gift to their fans.

The NBA and Adam Silver have confirmed that Ja Morant's suspension will likely not go past 25 games, per Sam Amick and Joe Vardon of The Athletic.

“Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant’s suspension will not be shortened at any point, NBA officials said, but his mandated absence is not expected to be any longer than 25 games — which means he will likely return to the court on Dec. 19 at New Orleans,” The Athletic report stated.

This means that the Grizzlies can play both Marcus Smart and Ja Morant by December 19. Morant's return is also a marquee matchup. He will get to face the Zion Williamson-led New Orleans Pelicans. Notably, both stars went first and second in the 2019 NBA Draft. An eager Morant out to prove that he is better than the person picked before him will definitely ball out.

Ja Morant's suspension was a repercussion of his controversial livestream. The Grizzlies star was posing with a gun which the league and its fans saw as a terrible act for a public figure of his status. Hopefully, he will fit the NBA's standards to make that return such that Taylor Jenkins gets his star back in time to make a postseason berth push.