Jaren Jackson Jr. Trade Grades
Judging the Memphis Grizzlies and Utah Jazz
Wow! Our first really big trade of the year comes through in shocking fashion. (I’ll have more about the Bulls/Pistons/Timberwolves swap later, but I’m waiting to see what the Wolves do with all that cap space.)
The Utah Jazz have dumped a whole lot of resources into Jaren Jackson Jr (and some friends!), betting on an unusual but exciting future, as they and the Memphis Grizzlies swapped seemingly half their rosters.
The trade:
Jazz receive: Jaren Jackson Jr, John Konchar, Jock Landale, Vince Williams Jr.
Grizzlies receive (deep breath): Walter Clayton Jr., Kyle Anderson, Taylor Hendricks, Georges Niang’s lovable spirit, and three future firsts (Suns ‘31, Lakers ‘27, best of ‘27 CLE/UTA/MIN)
Jackson Jr. is as confusing a player as I’ve seen this season.
The 2023 Defensive Player of the Year has been on a slow defensive decline ever since. That said, he’s still a premier playmaker on that end who, at 26, could well re-engage with his beast form.
The Ja Morant drama overshadowed a lot in Memphis. Jackson went through a long, strange patch of listlessness on both ends, falling into some bad habits he’d previously shaken off. His scoring is down, his block and steal rates are down, his fouls are up, his finishing at the rim and from range has declined.
Utah is betting his issues are environmental, not intrinsic.