Grizzlies: This trade rumor involving Jaren Jackson Jr. won’t age well

As the offseason continues, the Memphis Grizzlies are constantly being brought up in trade scenarios across the league. Memphis is a young team with loads of potential, so it would be a bit of a surprise to see a big trade.

That said, Memphis looks like they’re one player away from becoming a contender, so the hypotheticals will continue to flood through.

Recently, a new trade hypothetical was proposed by NBA Analysis Net, a sports blog that churns out trade rumors more than any other site. The last trade by this site that we discussed revolved around trading away Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. for Zion Williamson.

In other words, it was really bad. That said, the site holds a pretty strong reputation, which they lived up to in this trade.

The Memphis Grizzlies could trade Jaren Jackson Jr. to the Indiana Pacers for a lot in return

Here’s what the trade looks like.

This trade sees the Grizzlies give away two of their power forwards for a lot in return. The Pacers would be sending the Grizzlies some important pieces from their team, including a trio of mediocre shooters.

If you’ve read my posts on Beale Street Bears, you know how much I value the 3-point shot personally. Outside of the Los Angeles Lakers, who have LeBron James, the NBA hasn’t seen a poor 3-point shooting championship team win the NBA Finals in the past decade. Nine of the last 10 NBA Champions were in the top-11 in the league in long-distance shooting.

Right now, the Grizzlies are in the bottom seven of the league. Trading away one of their best volume shooters in Jaren Jackson Jr. in exchange for three guys who can’t shoot particularly well doesn’t really help Memphis in that category.

That said, the addition of Indiana’s 13th overall pick in the 2021 draft and their 2022 second-round pick would help add to the Grizzlies’ trade capital, possibly allowing them to trade for a bigger piece to play alongside Morant. That said, Memphis is still holding onto hope that Jackson Jr. will become that piece.

Overall, this isn’t a bad trade for the Grizzlies but it would require a huge risk from Zach Kleiman and the front office on Beale Street. The possibility of trading Jackson Jr. should be considered, though Memphis would likely need to receive a bigger piece in return for their former 4th-overall pick.

This, despite being a tempting trade, would likely age poorly when Jaren Jackson Jr. bounces back in 2021. If I’m the Grizzlies, I’m holding back on pulling the trigger for now.