Memphis Grizzlies guard and Rookie of the Year candidate Jaylen Wells was stretchered off the court on Tuesday night after Charlotte Hornets rookie KJ Simpson took him out in midair. Almost immediately, fans on social media wanted to see retribution.
The officials reviewed the play and upgraded the foul to a Flagrant 2. Simpson was promptly ejected. Was that enough? Should he miss more than just one half of basketball for sending a peer to the hospital?
Talk of a potential suspension was all over the internet, with some asking for a 10-game ban and others wanting him to never play in the NBA again.
I'm quite positive that last request will not be fulfilled. However, there is a legitimate question about whether Simpson's actions warrant a suspension and for how long?
Will KJ Simpson be suspended by the NBA for Jaylen Wells flagrant?
A fine is the only punishment we can 100 percent expect for Simpson. That's automatic after a Flagrant 2 is assessed. Simpson will be out $2,000. But what about the suspension? That's far from certain.
NBA penalty points system and flagrant fouls
The NBA doles out suspensions for consistent reckless play with a "penalty points" system. Every flagrant foul assessed in a season adds up. If a player accrues more than five penalty points during a season, they receive an automatic one-game suspension. That's why Nets center Nic Claxton had to sit out a game earlier this season.
Simpson has just one technical foul on his record this season. So at most he'd have three penalty points after his ejection. That's not enough to trigger the automatic suspension.
Consider Dillon Brooks, who fouled Gary Payton II while in midair during the 2021-22 playoffs. Serious harm was caused, as the Warriors guard suffered a fractured elbow on that play. Brooks was ejected and suspended for one playoff game. But that suspension was because of his previous infractions in the playoffs adding up.
Gary Payton II takes a hard fall after the foul from Dillon Brooks.
— Action Network (@ActionNetworkHQ) May 4, 2022
Brooks has been an ejected from the game. pic.twitter.com/36wnOrtFZt
The lack of past infractions will likely spare Simpson from any suspension. If the NBA wanted to treat this like special circumstances, Adam Silver could theoretically step in, but the NBPA would definitely fight it. It's a fight I don't think the NBA would win considering the ability for Simpson to argue the incident was purely accidental.
The Hornets have three games left in their season. Maybe the harshest suspension could include all three games. The softest punishment could be Simpson escaping a suspension all together. It's also the most likely outcome.
Reputation almost always plays a role in lengthier NBA suspensions
The fact is, unless you start a brawl or get aggressive with a ref or fan, on-court actions rarely result in significant suspensions.
If you have a reputation for dirty play, you're much more likely to be punished harshly. See Ron Artest/Metta World Peace, Draymond Green and Ja Morant. The league doesn't just suspend players for a single flagrant foul. There needs to be a pattern of behavior or the involvement of a non-player third party.
Simpson's actions were dangerous. If he does something like that again, he's going to come under a much harsher magnifying class from the NBA. For now, he should be focusing on making sure Wells is alright.