Winners, Losers from Jaren Jackson Jr. trade to Utah

The Memphis Grizzlies realized that the Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr. era had run its course — well short of the hopes and dreams they had for it just a few years ago — and it was time to start over. The Utah Jazz had reached the point in their rebuild that it was time to stop being patient and do something bold.

The result was the most unexpected deal of the NBA trade deadline: Former Defensive Player of the Year Jackson going to the Jazz in an eight-player trade.

So who are the winners here? Let’s break it down, but first let’s look at the details of the trade:

Memphis receives: Kyle Anderson, Taylor Hendricks, Walter Clayton Jr., Georges Niang three first-round picks (best of Jazz 2027 picks, Lakers 2027 pick, Suns 2031 pick).
Utah receives: Jaren Jackson Jr., John Konchar, Jock Landale, Vince Williams Jr.

Winner: Utah Jazz

NBC Sports’ own Grant Liffman summed it up perfectly: He liked this “aggressive trade” and wished more teams would take chances like this.

The reality is, Utah was not going to get a player as good as Jackson in free agency, so they used their cap space and picks to go get one. Utah, at the urging of owner Ryan Smith, also knew this season needed to be the end of their bottoming out as they rebuilt. The fans were getting restless. The owner was getting restless. Yet the fans and the organization still carry a scar from how the NBA Draft Lottery treated them last year (when they had the worst record and still picked fifth). Danny and Austin Ainge decided not to trust their rebuild to luck anymore, they took a big swing.

I say they connected.

Utah now has an interesting — not finished, not polished, but loaded with potential — core going forward. They can pair Jaren Jackson Jr. and Lauri Markkanen along the front line, a long, athletic duo who can score inside and out. They plan to re-sign Walker Kessler this summer and slot him in at the five to cover the rebounding and toughness deficiencies of Jackson and Markkanen, according to Tony Jones of the Athletic.

Utah also has Keyshawn George playing at an All-Star level at a guard spot and last year’s No. 5 pick Ace Bailey on the wing, who has started to find his footing in the NBA of late.

However, there are caveats to loving this trade for the Jazz.

First, they have to continue tanking this season — they need another shot at the lottery in a deep draft to supplement what they already have.

The other is that Jaren Jackson Jr. gets healthy and consistently plays back at his peak, closer to his Defensive Player of the Year level. Utah is locked in to JJJ for at least three more seasons at an average of more than $50 million a season — in today’s NBA, you can’t miss on max contracts and contend.

Winner: Memphis Grizzlies

I get it, not every Grizzlies fan likes this trade — this is a total teardown when fans can look at the roster and think all they needed were tweaks. It’s fair to be frustrated that the promise of this roster from 2021 and 2022 — which is not that long ago — has disappeared in a puff of smoke.

The reality is that Ja Morant did not continue on his upward trajectory and — as much as he is beloved in the city and by the fan base — he is not the guy who got his feet in the paint every time he drove, which was the engine of this offense. It would be a shock if Morant is still a member of the Grizzlies next season.

This rebuild really started when Memphis got four Orlando first-round picks for Desmond Bane. Combine that with the haul from this trade and their own picks, and the Grizzlies have a dozen first-round picks in the next seven years. It’s a solid foundation for a rebuild.

Memphis needs to nail those picks. They need to better develop young players. They need to get a little lucky. But it was time for a reset, and this is the right long-term move for the franchise.

Losers: Adam Silver, anyone who hates tanking

The story of the end of this NBA season will be tanking.

This trade and these two teams embody it.

Memphis entered today as the No. 11 seed in the West, 3.5 games out of the play-in, ground it could make up if it got healthy and pushed for it. Instead, the Grizzlies surveyed the situation, looked at a deep draft, and went the other direction — they traded not just their best player on both ends right now, but also other role players who were playing hard.

Utah has been in tank mode for a while, even if the Ainges tell you how much they hate to tank and won’t lose just to lose. The Jazz owe their first-round pick to the Thunder, but it is top-eight protected, and Utah wants to keep that pick, so we’re not seeing a lot of Lauri Markkanen right now. We’re not going to see a lot of Jackson either is my bet. The Jazz entered today with the sixth-worst record in the league and a 96% chance of retaining their pick. Jackson can help them win games now, so the real question is how much we will see of him through the end of the season.

Don’t blame these teams, the NBA set up the rules, the Jazz and Grizzlies are just playing the game when the name of the game is “acquire the most talent you can.”

Winners: Ja Morant trade suitors

This is really simple: Memphis is going to trade him, maybe before the deadline or maybe this summer, but they are going to trade him — and the price just went down.

Teams interested in Morant were doing so with some caution, this was more taking a chance you can get him healthy and back closer to his All-Star form than trading for a star, but at a lower price this becomes a better deal for someone.