Ja Morant to come off bench Wed., maybe for 'couple of games'

Memphis Grizzlies All-Star point guard Ja Morant will come off the bench in his return to the floor Wednesday night against the Houston Rockets, according to coach Taylor Jenkins.

"That might be the case for a couple of games," Jenkins said.

Morant on Tuesday participated in his first practice with the Grizzlies following an eight-game suspension for conduct detrimental to the NBA.

Morant spent 11 days in a Florida counseling facility in the wake of him brandishing a handgun during an early-morning Instagram Live video stream from a Denver-area strip club on March 4.

According to the statement from the league announcing the suspension, NBA commissioner Adam Silver determined Morant was in an "intoxicated state" during the Instagram Live session. Morant, however, was adamant that he does not consider alcohol abuse to be an issue for him.

"I don't have an alcohol problem, never had an alcohol problem," Morant said Tuesday. "I went [to Florida] for counseling to learn how to manage stress, cope with stress in a positive way instead of ways I've tried to deal with it before that caused me to make mistakes."

Morant, who has told the Memphis coaching staff that he's willing to come off the bench as they gradually increase his minutes to normal levels, admitted that he is "uncomfortable" with the potential fan response after he returns from his suspension.

"It's a lot, man," Morant said. "A lot of people don't know what's going on -- not in my shoes right now with everything that's been going on as of late. Obviously, I take responsibility for decisions I've made that pretty much hurt me to the core.