Report: Ja Morant Enters Counseling Program; No Timetable for Return to Grizzlies

Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant has been away from the team since a March 3 game after posting video in which he appeared to be holding a gun at a nightclub, and that absence will continue since he is reportedly heading to a counseling program.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported as much, noting "there remains no timetable for his return to active play."

The report comes after Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins discussed the possibility of the two-time All-Star returning for Friday's contest against the San Antonio Spurs.

"There are a lot of internal dialogues going on and obviously there's still things going on at the league level that we're in communication with," Jenkins said, per Tim MacMahon of ESPN. "Ja's fully engaged in this process and ready for whatever comes next after these two games."

The Grizzlies first announced on March 4 that Morant would miss "at least the next two games" and then provided a subsequent update on March 8 saying he would be away for "at least the next four games."

Memphis has played two games since the second update—victories over the Golden State Warriors and Dallas Mavericks—and has contests remaining against the Dallas Mavericks and Miami Heat ahead of the matchup in question against the Spurs.

"I take full responsibility for my actions last night," Morant previously said in a statement. "I'm sorry to my family, teammates, coaches, fans, partners, the city of Memphis and the entire Grizzlies organization for letting you down. I'm going to take some time away to get help and work on learning better methods of dealing with stress and my overall well-being."

The Glendale (Colorado) Police Department investigated the incident but said Morant would not be charged with a crime:

Morant is one of the best young players in the league and a major reason the Grizzlies are title contenders at the No. 3 seed from the Western Conference. However, he has been making headlines for more than his basketball this season.

Molly Hensley-Clancy of the Washington Post reported on March 1 that police records indicated Morant "threatened" the head of security at a mall and then punched a teenage boy multiple times four days later when they were playing a pickup basketball game before going into his house and emerging with a gun.

Morant told police he was acting in self-defense when he punched the teenager.

What's more, Bob Kravitz and Sam Amick of The Athletic reported in February someone in the car Morant was in pointed a laser at members of the Indiana Pacers' traveling party after a game. The NBA could not determine if the laser was attached to a weapon, but one witness said it was connected to a gun.

The Grizzlies have 16 games remaining in the regular season.