Grizzlies big man Jaren Jackson Jr. will be eligible for a contract extension of his rookie deal in August, and Evan Barnes of the Memphis Commercial Appeal contends that Memphis’ executive VP Zach Kleiman should exercise caution with Jackson, who has been healthy for just 126 of a possible 227 regular season games across his three seasons with the Grizzlies.
Barnes notes that the Grizzlies could take some steps to insure themselves against future Jackson maladies, like possibly baking an Exhibit 3 clause into a new contract to temper Jackson’s guaranteed money. The Grizzlies can opt to hold off on inking Jackson to an extension until October 18, the day before the 2021/22 season is set to begin.
There’s more out of the Southwest Division:
- With the young Grizzlies having officially entered their offseason, Chris Herrington of the Daily Memphian takes a look at the club’s most valuable players. Point guard Ja Morant, Jackson, and wing Dillon Brooks comprise Herrington’s top three. Herrington wonders about the offensive ceiling of Brooks and the long-term healthy of JJJ.
- The suddenly-rebuilding Rockets find themselves faced with a variety of offseason questions, writes Kelly Iko of The Athletic. Iko thinks that Houston may look to add some intriguing, cost-effective restricted free agents this summer, along the lines of Bulls power forward Lauri Markkanen and Lakers shooting guard Talen Horton-Tucker, tantalizing role players who may be asked to do more with a developing Houston club. Iko also opines on which of the Rockets’ own restricted free agents will be retained. He notes that, in more minor free agency news, that the Rockets may look to shore up their center depth behind Christian Wood.
- To get back into the playoff mix, the Pelicans need to add more perimeter shooting this offseason, writes Christian Clark of NOLA.com. A revamped Pelicans roster in the 2020/21 season, led by new coach Stan Van Gundy, finished the year ranked 25th in three-point attempts and 26th in three-point percentage. The team’s lack of consistent reliable perimeter scorers made it easier for defenses to game-plan against its best players, forwards Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram.
I still believe Jaren Jackson would be much better as a trade chip instead of a building block for Memphis. He has talent and a lot of potential, but much like Porzingis it doesn’t really matter how talented you are if you are always in street clothes.
Ya think the Pelicans’ poor three point shooting and low three point shoot attempts have anything to do with Stan Van Gundy? Like maybe he’s 10 years behind the rest of the league when it comes to understanding scoring efficiency?
Nah. Couldn’t be.
You mean the guy that played 4 out, 1 in back when not many were doing it?
The issue was spacing with Adams and Zion together in lineups with Bledsoe and Ball.
Not likely, VanGundy was one of the first coaches to start the trend of floor spacing and modern switch hunting pick and rolls all built around Howard and Turkoglu. Hell he even had Lewis play as a prototype to the modern stretch 4. You could see it towards the end of this season with Zion playing as a superaized Turkoglu and Hayes as his screener. I think they just need time to develop Hayes and Zion a bit more and find a good shooter to play the 2.
First year as a head coach with the Heat in Wade’s rookie year, it was Wade, Eddie Jones, Caron Butler, Lamar Odom, and Brian Grant…Odom even played some small ball 5
If Rockets sign THT and Knicks sign Schroeder, Lakers would have no cap no bench
Both players are flawed and really just bodies. Whether Lakers mgt are distressed in losing them I could care less. The smart money though would be to let them go after a sign and trade.
Rockets ain’t signing nobody, their owner is cheap. They will be used as a dumping ground for bloated contracts
The reason the “Rockets ain’t signing nobody” has nothing to do with Fertitta being cheap (just like at least half of the other 29 owners in the NBA). In fact, they just don’t have to. They already have 9 players under contract next season, plus they have 3 first round picks in the upcoming draft, plus they will probably re-sign a couple of their own guys (namely Kelly Olynyk and David Nwaba). That’s 14 players right there.
Exactly Wally. Burner_x is clueless.
Hey buddy, at least 3 of those 9 can be cut and never play for another nba team. Dont be confused. Fertita is cheap in a way that he wont spend to improve the product on the court. Too bad rockets fans cant see it. How are you guys ok with harden and fertita after they turned a top3 nba team into the worst roster in the league?
Oh right. You (think you) know what you’re talking about, I forgot.
Sure three of those guys under contract (not including Bradley who could also opt in) have non-guaranteed deals. But there is absolutely zero chance that Houston is going to cut either Jae’Sean Tate or KJ Martin, arguably the two most unheralded rookies in the NBA this season. And even if they were cut I guarantee you that another team would sign them immediately. So please, educate us some more with your NBA knowledge. The anticipation is delightful.
Saying the Rockets have the worst roster in the league is beyond oblivious. They just went through the most tumultuous season any team has endured in NBA history. Houston used 30 different players, which would have been an NBA record in an 82-game season, not just a 72-game season. They also had 24 different starters last season, probably another record, and 43 different starting lineups (in only 72 games). I am going to be ecstatic next season when the Rockets are the most improved team in the NBA and see the amazement from everyone here when I am proven right.
Wow, this is some knicks level delusion about their team. If karma exists, its bashing all of Houston sports team for what the houston asterisks did in baseball.
That make no sense, Burner. Both the Texans and the Rockets suck but that has nothing to do with the Astros cheating. There’s no correlation there.
Memphis has to figure out what to do at the 4 with arguably 4 or 5 similar options there, and they need a more consistent wing piece
What about that boy, Winslow.
The GRIZZ sure can use that 18.5% (FG3%).