The Grizzlies Trade JJJ To The Jazz

The Memphis Grizzlies have traded Jaren Jackson Jr. to the Utah Jazz. WOW. WOW. WOW. I absolutely love this deal for the Jazz, if I’m being honest.

The trade goes as follows: the Grizzlies send Jaren Jackson Jr., John Konchar, Jock Landale, and Vince Williams Jr. to the Utah Jazz in exchange for Walter Clayton Jr., Kyle Anderson, Taylor Hendricks, Georges Niang, and three first-round picks.

Alrighty then. For the Grizzlies, this feels like a full-on teardown, with a rebuild either coming very soon or honestly starting right now because of this trade. And let me just say this: they are not done whatsoever. I wouldn’t be surprised if Ja Morant is also shipped off to another team by Thursday’s trade deadline.

Now, with JJJ being sent to Utah, Ja will most definitely be on the move. Maybe the Heat if they don’t land Giannis? Who knows. But Memphis is nowhere near finished. With this trade, the Grizzlies now have 13 first-round picks over the next seven years, tied for the most with Brooklyn and OKC. Memphis is officially going full rebuild.

Now let’s get into this trade from Utah’s perspective, which is easily the most exciting part of all this. The Jazz somehow accelerated their rebuild without letting go of any of their foundational pieces. Yes, they gave up some hefty draft capital, but in return they landed Jaren Jackson Jr., who fits this group perfectly as a defensive monster.

With the ascension of Keyonte George during the latter half of last season, and that momentum continuing into this year, the Jazz appear to have found their point guard of the future and their primary offensive playmaker. And we haven’t even mentioned Lauri Markkanen yet.

Utah has quietly built a really solid foundation with Keyonte George, their first-round pick Ace Bailey, and Brice Sensabaugh, who’s shown tremendous flashes this season. Of course, Bailey is viewed as the future young star of this team given his immense talent level, or at least that’s the plan.

Then you look at their frontcourt: Lauri Markkanen, Jaren Jackson Jr., and potentially Walker Kessler, assuming they get an extension done next year. This core and this frontline are most definitely going to show out over the next couple of years, barring injury of course.

The only real downside to this deal is that Utah will be paying both JJJ and Markkanen around $50 million each, but if you’re the Jazz, you live with that. They’re not exactly a destination where stars flock historically, so if you can build a core like this and actually compete in the West, it’s absolutely worth it.

WOW, man. And we’re just getting started with this trade deadline week. Man oh man, how exciting. There is so much more to come, and I can’t wait to see all these dominoes fall.