Grizzlies traded Jaren Jackson Jr. for pu pu platter of false hope

Sorry Memphis fans, this one must hurt.

Jaren Jackson Jr. was drafted 4th overall by Memphis in the 2018 NBA Draft, a homegrown talent who blossomed from a unicorn prospect into one of the rare players to deliver on that promise.

JJJ worked his way to becoming a defensive anchor, despite often fighting foul trouble, earning himself a Defensive Player of the Year award in 2023 even while being a little too active at times.

When Ja went down, Jaren stood up as an All-Star level scorer and then some, a player who not only could stretch the floor from deep, but could use fundamental postup moves to score against mismatches, and could read and react the defense to make team-first decisions like kickouts.

When Ja returned, Jaren returned to his pick-and-pop play-finisher role, where one could argue Jackson is the best #2 playfinisher archetype in the league – a defensive anchor who blocks everything in sight, stretches the floor from deep, attacks closeouts with the dribble-pass-shoot, and posts up mismatches on a whim, all while bringing cerebral two-way feel to the game, consistently making plays that stack up to help his team win.

After eight seasons into his Memphis tenure, Jaren Jackson Jr. has already led the league in blocks twice, been selected as an All-Star twice, and made an All-Defensive team three times.

The Jazz just landed their defensive anchor of today and tomorrow; the Grizzlies have an exciting defensive young core to build around, but the path back to contending just got a lot longer.

BREAKING — TRADE DETAILS

Jazz receive:
Jaren Jackson Jr.
John Konchar
Jock Landale
Vince Williams Jr.

Grizzlies receive:
Walter Clayton Jr.
Kyle Anderson
Taylor Hendricks
Georges Niang
3 first-round picks

WOW. 🔥🔥🔥. (via @ShamsCharania) pic.twitter.com/89bFHKiGx8
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) February 3, 2026

Trading Jaren Jackson Jr. without getting a bluechip trade piece in return is selling low on a proven star

Jaren reacts — Jan 26, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. (8) reacts after a made basket against the Houston Rockets during the second quarter at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-Imagn Images | Erik Williams-Imagn Images

The Memphis Grizzlies send out one of their franchise cornerstones entering the prime age of his career in a 26-year old Jaren Jackson Jr. along with the matching salaries of John Konchar, Jock Landale, and Vince Williams Jr. in a trade to Utah.

In return, the Grizzlies receive two exciting role player prospects in Walter Clayton Jr. and Taylor Hendricks, two playable role players in Kyle Anderson and Georges Niang, along with three draft picks deemed as first-rounders.

The best individual piece returning in this deal is probably the 2027 1st-rounder where Memphis might land a Top-8 pick, a pick where the best hope for a prospect is generally to become as productive as someone like Jaren Jackson Jr.

The odds of winning a top-2 pick and finding a talent who actually develops into a superstar, let alone a player who makes both All-Defensive and All-Star teams, are basically slim-to-none.

Memphis just sent one packing in exchange for peanuts.

Trading Jaren Jackson Jr. at this price point doesn't add up; this trade reads like a team desperate to blow things up, as in right now, like this week, with no patience to wait any longer.

There may have been reason to move on from Ja Morant due to the never-ending off-court hooplah, but that shouldn't have been a reason to move on from Jaren Jackson Jr. too, unless of course JJJ made it clear that he didn't want to be a part of a rebuild-on-the-fly if Morant were to be moved.

Memphis brass will say it added assets to the treasure chest, cleared up cap space flexibility, and 'chose a direction', a direction pointing downward for now with 'potential' and 'hope' for the future.

While this team clearly has an enticing young defensive core to build around between dynamic rookie wing Cedric Coward, rim-rolling rim-protecting big man Zach Edey, and point-of-attack pest in Jaylen Wells, its odd they didn't see Jaren as the stretch-fourth piece of that puzzle going forward.

While the writing may have been on the wall for the current iteration of this Memphis Grizzlies team, deciding to move on from your home grown defensive anchor franchise cornerstone without getting even one blue-chip trade piece in return is simply going to set this team back awhile.

Memphis could very well be competitive again without Jaren down the line, maybe they even luck out with one of these prospects or picks becoming a truly valuable part of that future, but the process of moving Jaren Jackson Jr. in this fashion, for this package, feels rushed; this feels like selling at the lowest point possible on a big man with one of the rarest unicorn skill-sets in the league, it feels like selling fans false hope on empty mystery box promises when you already had the real thing.