The Utah Jazz were being looked at as possible sellers with the trade deadline nearing, with bigs Lauri Markkanen and Walker Kessler pegged as likely to be traded next. But, lo and behold, the Jazz became buyers, trading for the Memphis Grizzlies’ Jaren Jackson Jr. in a surprising eight-player deal that largely flew under the radar.
First reported by ESPN, the trade will see a package of Jaren Jackson Jr., Jock Landale, John Konchar, and Vince Williams Jr. going to Utah in exchange for Walter Clayton Jr., Kyle Anderson, Taylor Hendricks, Georges Niang, and three first-round draft picks.
The three first-round draft picks the Jazz now owe the Grizz are the Los Angeles Lakers’ 2027 pick, the most favorable of the other first-rounders the Jazz own in 2027 (Utah/Cleveland Cavaliers/Minnesota Timberwolves), and the Phoenix Suns’ 2031 pick.
Jazz Go from Seller to Buyer with Jaren Jackson Deal
For the Jazz, trading for Jaren Jackson Jr. seems to signal a pivot toward trying to build a playoff team after languishing in the bottom of the standings for so long. In getting Jackson, Utah gets to pair Markkanen, the franchise pillar, with a defense-first big who can also space the floor well enough and make plays offensively. Crucially, Jackson’s contract aligns almost perfectly with the Finnish superstar’s, since both are on the books for at least until the 2028–29 NBA season.
Jackson was averaging 19.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks for Memphis before the swap. He is expected to fortify the Jazz’s defense and help the team turn things around moving forward.
Memphis Reboot with Trade, Could Ja Morant Be Next?
For the Grizzlies, letting go of Jackson appears to signal the start of a reboot for a franchise that has settled into mediocrity after winning 56 games in the 2021–22 NBA season and making the Western Conference Finals. With Jackson and Konchar shipped out to Utah, only Ja Morant and Santi Aldama remain from that once-promising squad, which also included Dillon Brooks, Desmond Bane, and Steven Adams.
While the players Memphis acquired—Clayton, Anderson, Hendricks, and Niang—are all solid in their own right, the big prize of this trade appears to be the three draft picks the Grizzlies will receive as well. With these, the Grizz now have 13 first-round picks in the next 6 years, along with 6 second-round selections. Such draft capital could enable Memphis to build over time through picks or even trade for a superstar using a cadre of picks to sweeten any potential deal.
But that’s too far into the future already. in the interim, what the Grizzlies will do with Ja Morant will certainly be something to keep an eye on after the Jaren Jackson trade.
