Ja Morant has been sidelined for the foreseeable future yet again.
The Memphis Grizzlies announced on Saturday that the star guard will miss approximately three weeks as he recovers from a UCL sprain in his left elbow.
Morant suffered the injury in a loss to the Atlanta Hawks when the high-flyer pinged his elbow off the backboard in the third quarter after he soared to block a Dyson Daniels layup in transition. He was subsequently ruled out ahead of the Grizzlies' loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday.
It'll be the 26-year-old's fourth extended absence of the season, previously missing 10 consecutive games, then four straight, and most recently six in a row, all due to a lingering calf injury.
Morant's latest injury puts a halt to the little semblance of momentum the two-time all-star had carved together this season with back-to-back games of 20-plus points and 10-plus assists for just the first time all year, following his return from the aforementioned six-game absence.
Now in his sixth NBA season, Morant is averaging 19.5 points and 8.1 rebounds in 20 games this year. A down year for the once Rookie of the Year, with his lowest scoring mark since he was a sophomore in 2020-21 on a career-worst 52.1 per cent true shooting.
All of which has coincided with Morant being a routine subject of trade rumours this season, while suggesting this week that he prefers to stay in Memphis. And given the timeline of his latest injury, he'll presumably be sidelined through the Feb. 5 trade deadline and may have played his last game for the franchise.
In 327 games since the Grizzlies drafted Morant second overall in 2019, he's averaged 22.4 points, 4.6 rebounds and 7.4 assists.
Memphis, now without its lead guard once more, returns to action on Sunday against an equally, if not more, short-handed Denver Nuggets team (Sportsnet+, 3:30 p.m. ET / 12:30 p.m. PT). The Grizzlies will be looking to bounce back from back-to-back losses that have dropped them to 18-25 on the season and 12th in the West.
