Recently, Ja Morant flashed a gun on Instagram and sent the world into a frenzy. It could not come at a worse time as the player was already being accused of attacking a 17-year-old teenager. When the video of Ja displaying a firearm went viral, many believed that he would be suspended for a significant period.
That was not the case. The Memphis Grizzlies franchise suspended Ja for a minimum of two games. Later, the franchise mentioned that there was no official timetable for his return. Amid all this, Coca-Cola pulled its ads with Morant. For those who don’t know, Coca-Cola owns Powerade, the beverage brand that Ja signed a deal with and collaborated with last month.
The fact that the company dropped these ads didn’t go down too well with fans. Many labeled it as “wrong.” However, it has taken yet another drastic turn. NLE Choppa, a rapper who was set to benefit from the Powerade deal, will not do so anymore. NLE Choppa’s song, ‘Mo Up Front,’ was supposed to be featured on Morant’s “What 50% More Means” campaign with Powerade.
NLE Choppa will miss out on a Powerade commercial due to Ja Morant’s recent gun incident on ig live. pic.twitter.com/F89FZE1o2Z
— SAY CHEESE! 👄🧀 (@SaycheeseDGTL) March 18, 2023
Now that Powerade’s deal with Ja is almost pulled, it means that NLE Choppa’s music will not be on the player’s commercials. According to TMZ, the commercials were supposed to highlight the NCAA’s March Madness tournament.
Sources also mention that NLE Choppa reassures that his relationship with Ja is not affected and that the pair are still on very good terms. The rapper even shares a good relationship with the rest of the Grizzlies team as well. He walked the team out for their season opener back in October 2022.
When will Ja Morant return to the NBA court?
Recently, Adam Silver-led NBA suspended Ja for a total of 8 games without pay. At the time, the player had already missed 6 games. This meant that he really had to miss two more games for the Grizzlies team. Hence, we can conclude that Ja will be allowed to return to the Grizzlies roster on March 20, when they face the Dallas Mavericks.
Morant hadn’t been playing basketball while at a counseling center in Florida, so his ramp up is expected to extend past Monday’s game vs. Dallas when he’s first eligible to return, sources tell ESPN. It’s expected that he’ll return to play shortly thereafter.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 15, 2023
According to Adrian Wojnarowski, Ja had not been playing basketball for a while. That is understandable considering the events he has had to deal with in the last few weeks. Moreover, sources claim that Morant’s return might be later than March 20. He has to return to game form and needs to start training regularly once again.
The Grizzlies will have a double fixture against the Houston Rockets on March 23 and 25 after facing the Mavericks. If Ja doesn’t face the Rockets on March 23, then we will most likely see him make a return on March 25.
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