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The Memphis Grizzlies have secured one of the league's best young big men, Jaren Jackson Jr. for the next four years for $105 million.
He is described as a unicorn, similar to what Kristaps Porzingis was in his early days, as Jackson can operate as a guard in a 6' 11" body. Jaren Jackson Jr. was the fourth pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, and has spent his entire career with the Grizzlies.
The deadline for rookie extensions for the 2018 NBA Draft class is 6 PM ET on October 18th, 2021. Hence, the Grizzlies went ahead and locked him down for good. Jackson Jr. forms an important piece of the team's core alongside Ja Morant and co.
Memphis Grizzlies' future looks bright with Jaren Jackson Jr.
Jaren Jackson Jr. spent most of last season injured. He played just 11 games, starting only four of them, averaging 14.4 points per game. However, despite a year's absence, the Memphis Grizzlies knew they had to secure him for the future, and they did just that.
When he was last healthy in the 2019-20 NBA season, Jaren Jackson Jr. averaged 17.4 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game on 46/39/74 shooting splits. Last campaign, albeit in limited games, he shot 83% from the charity stripe, and grabbed a career-high 5.6 rebounds per game.
He could be the perfect pick-and-pop player for the Memphis Grizzlies alongside Ja Morant.
Jaren Jackson Jr. can do it all, from setting screens and running to the basket to dribbling handoffs and sprinting for open threes. The most intriguing part of his game is certainly his 39% shooting from downtown on 6.5 attempts per game. For that, he was ranked first in the NBA amongst players in his position, taking at least six threes a game.
Jaren Jackson Jr. also had a very productive 2021 preseason, which likely boosted his case for a contract extension. He averaged 18 points and 7.2 rebounds per game while shooting an astounding 48% from the three-point range. Jackson Jr. dropped 20 points, eight rebounds, two steals and a block against the Detroit Pistons in 26 minutes.
He then followed that up with an impressive 29-point performance against the Chicago Bulls in the preseason finale. Jaren Jackson Jr. made 10-18 shots from the field, and also made 7-12 from the three-point range.
Jaren Jackson Jr. is just 22 years old, so he likely has a lot of great years ahead of him. In the NBA's 2021 Annual GM Survey, when asked "Which player is most likely to have a breakout season in 2021-22", Jackson Jr. was given the most votes at 17%.
Guess the Lakers players!
