Monday's disclosure that Memphis Grizzlies superstar Ja Morant will undergo season-ending surgery on his right shoulder completes a turbulent stretch for one of the NBA's brightest young stars.

At the commencement of the 2023-24 season, the 24-year-old faced a 25-game NBA suspension due to an incident involving the display of a firearm on social media, adding to a previous eight-game suspension from the preceding season for a similar offense.

Making his comeback on December 19, Morant rejoined the Grizzlies, who were struggling with a 6-19 record and the absence of key players like Steven Adams (knee) and Brandon Clarke (Achilles). Morant immediately revitalized the team, guiding them to victory in six out of the nine games he participated in and boasting impressive averages of 25.1 points and 8.1 assists during this period.

The injury serves as a significant setback for Morant, making the already challenging task of elevating the Grizzlies, who were facing a substantial deficit, particularly daunting this season. His efforts to lead the team into postseason contention or a play-in tournament have now become even more formidable, exacerbated in part by the challenges he faced earlier in the season.

Accomplishing this feat would have positioned Morant to firmly establish himself as one of the emerging stars in the NBA's future, a role that will become even more significant with the eventual retirements of LeBron James from the Los Angeles Lakers and Stephen Curry from the Golden State Warriors in the upcoming years.

Morant's non-involvement not only erases the possibility of a heroic attempt to elevate a challenged and understaffed team but also guarantees that Memphis will find itself in the draft lottery, a stark contrast to the consecutive seasons of securing the No. 2 seed in the competitive Western Conference.

Overall, the injury virtually assures that this season will be one of missed opportunities for both Morant and the Grizzlies, potentially casting its influence beyond Memphis and shaping the dynamics in the weeks leading up to the NBA's Feb. 8 trade deadline and the subsequent free agency period this summer.

Considering the Grizzlies' viewpoint, the occurrence of this injury could have been more unfavorable. Despite the promising 6-3 record in the nine games Morant played this season, suggesting a potential push for the play-in tournament, it somewhat embellished the team's performance with him on the court.

Throughout Morant's brief period, the team encountered an equal number of losses by double figures as victories, with two each, including a substantial 31-point defeat by the Sacramento Kings on their home turf. Surprisingly, Memphis operated at a roughly .500 level with Morant in the lineup. However, it's doubtful that such performance would have sufficed for a team that remains 4½ games behind the West's 10th and final play-in spot, requiring a leapfrog over three teams ahead in the standings to secure it.

Considering Morant's suspension and the additional challenges posed by injuries to the rest of the roster in the initial two months of the season, there's a chance that Memphis could perform better than its current 7-20 (.259) record without him. Nonetheless, the Grizzlies presently occupy the sixth position in the lottery standings and are improbable to slide behind teams with superior records, all of which have won at least 40% of their games up to this point.

The positive aspect in this situation lies in Memphis securing its most favorable draft pick since selecting Morant at No. 2 in 2019. The Grizzlies' quick rise to playoff contention compelled them to make a move in 2021, trading up to No. 10 to acquire a third lottery pick, Ziaire Williams, who, unfortunately, hasn't shown the anticipated development alongside the existing core of Morant and 2018 No. 4 pick Jaren Jackson Jr.

Opting for surgery at this point allows Morant to make a comeback on the court during the summer, focusing on refining his skills rather than being occupied with rehabilitation. The standard labrum repair, as explained by Jeff Stotts on In Street Clothes, typically demands approximately five months of rehabilitation, a procedure from which several of the NBA's top players, such as Jalen Brunson, Paul George, and Pascal Siakam, have successfully returned to excel.

Unless faced with additional setbacks, Morant's injury marks a reset for the Memphis season, one that seemed doomed from the beginning, offering the Grizzlies an opportunity to commence the 2024-25 season with a probable lottery pick and a clean slate.

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