NBA Awards season and 2 other ripple effects of Morant suspension on Spurs

Phoenix Suns v San Antonio Spurs
Phoenix Suns v San Antonio Spurs / Ronald Cortes/GettyImages
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Adam Silver officially issued a punishment for Ja Morant's mid-May incident over the weekend. The All-Star point guard will serve a 25-game suspension with special conditions he must meet in order to return to the court. Whether you believe the length of his suspension is fair or not, the discipline is historically substantial. Including Morant, the NBA has only issued suspensions of 20 or more games nine times since its inception. O.J. Mayo and Tyreke Evans receive honorable mentions, but their off-court actions were serious enough to require applying for reinstatement to suit up in the NBA again.

The Grizzlies and their franchise player will feel the ripple effects of his suspension in numerous ways, but how his time away from the game affects others is more intriguing. In any competition, one team's misfortune may grant opportunities to their opponents. Since the Spurs are in the same division, they have the potential to benefit from an unfortunate situation that no one ever wants to see in the NBA.