Memphis guard Ja Morant has been suspended 25 games by the NBA – his second ban in four months – and Commissioner Adam Silver made clear Friday the star must stop his “alarming” habit of flashing guns on social media.

The suspension for the upcoming season comes a month after a second video of Morant flashing a handgun was streamed online. The video of Morant showing a gun while sitting in the passenger seat of a car was posted after his eight-game suspension in March for a video in which he flashed a handgun in a Denver-area strip club.

Morant is due to make around $33.5 million this season. He now stands to lose just over $300,000 per game – or approximately $7.5 million. He also will have to adhere to certain conditions before being reinstated, the NBA said.

Silver made clear the two-time All-Star’s decision-making is “disconcerting.”

“The potential for other young people to emulate Ja’s conduct is particularly concerning,” Silver said. “Under these circumstances, we believe a suspension of 25 games is appropriate and makes clear that engaging in reckless and irresponsible behavior with guns will not be tolerated.”

The league said Morant “will be ineligible to participate in any public league or team activities, including preseason games” during his suspension.

The Grizzlies suspended Morant indefinitely from team activities after the second video surfaced, and they said Friday they respect the punishment for this “latest episode.”

“Our standards as a league and team are clear, and we expect that all team personnel will adhere to them,” the Grizzlies said.

Morant apologized again Friday to the league, the Grizzlies, his teammates and the city of Memphis in a statement issued through his representatives. He specifically told Silver, Grizzlies owner Robert Pera and Memphis General Manager Zach Kleiman he is sorry.

The guard with his own signature Nike shoe also apologized to children who look up to him for failing them as a role model. Morant made clear he’s had time to reflect and understands the hurt he might have caused.

“I promise I’m going to be better. To all of my sponsors, I’m going to be a better representation of our brands. And to all of my fans, I’m going to make it up to you, I promise,” Morant said.

Morant said he’ll keep working on both his mental health and decision-making.

HORNETS: Michael Jordan is finalizing a deal to sell the majority share of the Charlotte Hornets, the franchise announced, leaving the 30-team NBA without any Black majority ownership.

Jordan is selling to a group led by Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall, the Hornets said. Plotkin has been a minority stakeholder in the Hornets since 2019. Schnall has been a minority owner of the Atlanta Hawks since 2015 and is in the process of selling his investment in that team.

It’s not clear how long the process of selling will take to be finalized by the NBA’s Board of Governors. Jordan plans to keep a minority stake in the Hornets, the team he bought in 2010 for about $275 million.

Jordan’s decision to sell ends his unsuccessful 13-year run overseeing the organization.

“In the same way that it’s wonderful that one of our greatest, Michael Jordan, could become the principal governor of a team, he has the absolute right to sell at the same time,” Silver said earlier this month at the NBA Finals. “Values have gone up a lot since he bought that team, so that is his decision.”

In that same news conference at the finals, Silver said the Board of Governors are focused on diversity in ownership groups.

“I would love to have better representation in terms of principal governors,” Silver said. “It’s a marketplace. It’s something that if we were expanding that the league would be in a position to focus directly on that, but in individual team transactions, the market takes us where we are.”

The sale price was not immediately announced; ESPN, citing sources, said the franchise was being valued at $3 billion. The most recent sale of an NBA team came when Mat Ishbia bought the Phoenix Suns, a deal that when struck in December valued that franchise at $4 billion.

Jordan declined comment on the sale through his spokesperson, Estee Portnoy.

WARRIORS: Golden State is promoting within to replace general manager Bob Myers, naming Mike Dunleavy Jr. as their new GM ahead of next week’s draft.

Owner Joe Lacob said when Myers announced May 30 he would leave when his contract was done at the end of June that the organization would strongly consider internal candidates.

The 42-year-old Dunleavy has worked closely under Myers since his move to the front office, serving as vice president of basketball operations the two seasons after two years as assistant general manager. He will begin his sixth season in a front-office role. Dunleavy became a pro scout for the Warriors in 2018 once he wrapped up his 15-year playing career during which he spent 2002 through part of ’07 with Golden State.

The Warriors selected him with the third overall draft pick in 2002 out of Duke.