Jaren Jackson Jr. – Memphis Grizzlies
This may come as a little bit of a surprise to some, but Jaren Jackson Jr. is entering a contract year, and he still has a lot to prove to Grizzlies’ management.
The former 4th overall pick missed a large chunk of time last season due to suffering a torn meniscus in the NBA Bubble a year before, and he did not return until late April this past season.
Entering the final year of his rookie deal, the Grizzlies basically have two years worth of tape to base their decision on whether or not to keep Jaren Jackson Jr. long-term or not and they really only have one year of film of him paired with Ja Morant, the Grizzlies’ face of the franchise.
To this point in his career, Jaren Jackson Jr.’s numbers are definitely above-average for similar players at his position, as Jackson Jr. has averaged 15.4 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.5 blocks, and has shot 37.4% from three-point range. However, there are still a lot of question marks surrounding his game.
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Can the 6’11” big man be more of a stretch center instead of a true power-forward, and can J.J.J. be a consistent three-point shooter after shooting just 28.3% from distance last season?
Memphis is definitely going to keep Jaren Jackson Jr. on their roster to begin the season, and they are not looking to trade him at the moment, but if the young big man continues to struggle at the start of the 2021-22 season, his future with the Grizzlies could very well be in doubt.
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GM Zach Kleiman has shown that he is not afraid to make big moves with this roster. He has done a great job opening up potential cap space for the next offseason, so if Jaren Jackson Jr. does not perform well this upcoming year, the Grizzlies may not extend his contract and look to use their cap space elsewhere.
