Memphis Grizzlies: Jaren Jackson Jr. Set For Pivotal Offseason In His Career

Jaren Jackson Jr. had a great rookie season for the Memphis Grizzlies. This will be a big summer for him as he looks to come back better in year two.

Jaren Jackson Jr. was an absolute stud during his rookie season. It was cut short due to an injury, but when he was on the floor he was a difference maker. With the Memphis Grizzlies making big changes this offseason, they need their young star to come back ready to take the next step.

He came into his rookie season and made big strides during it as he was a much more polished offensive player than we saw in college. His ability to make an impact defensively was never in question, but the way he was able to score the ball from anywhere on the floor was a huge boost for the Grizzlies.

He played in 58 games this season averaging 13.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks per game. His shooting was good as well too as he made 51% of his shots, 36% of his three-pointers, and 77% of his free-throws.

The rebounding is an area he has to get better in. He is extremely skilled, but he has to get stronger if he is ever going to live up to the superstar potential that he has. The lack of strength affected him in other areas too as his 3.8 fouls per game were tied for the league lead with Karl Anthony-Towns.

Not all of his foul struggles had to do with a lack of strength though, but it certainly would’ve helped in many different situations. He just needs to get smarter on that end of the floor and learn when to and when not to try and block a shot.

His inability to stay out of foul trouble is a big reason he had some consistency issues this season. In many games, he would pick up an early two fouls and he’d have to sit on the bench for a long period of time and more often than not he was unable to get back into any kind of rhythm.

When he was able to get into a rhythm though we saw how dominant he could be at times. His best game of the season was when he led the epic comeback win on the road in Brooklyn. He and Mike Conley both had amazing performances as they would go on to win in 2OT.

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Jackson finished that game with 36 points and 8 rebounds on 13-22 shooting including 3-7 from three-point range. Two of those three-pointers were in the final 33 seconds of regulation as he helped rally from seven down at that point. Conley was the one who led the team in scoring that day as he finished with 37 points, but it was Jaren Jackson who stole the show.

The way he played in that game was extremely exciting and seemed to be a sign of things to come for the young star. He would continue his inconsistent play all season, but he showed signs of greatness many times which has everyone in Memphis excited about the future.

This is a franchise that has struggled in the draft in recent years. They selected Hasheem Thabeet with the 2nd pick in the 2009 draft and that did not turn out well so some were worried he may end up the same way. It’s too early to tell for sure, but he’s already made more of an impact than the majority of their recent draft pick.

The Grizzlies are heading into the next chapter of their franchise and they need Jaren Jackson Jr. leading the charge. They trust him to lead this team into the next phase of their rebuild which is why they feel comfortable exploring trade options for Mike Conley.

That could put a lot of pressure on him, but that hasn’t seemed to affect him so far so I wouldn’t expect it to now either. This franchise has fully embraced him and he has embraced it right back and as long as he continues to make the proper strides, he will be well prepared to lead this team to greatness.