Grizzlies: This trade hypothetical involving JJJ changes everything

Before I get into this Memphis Grizzlies-Golden State Warriors trade, I want to make it as clear as possible that this is not a trade hypothetical that I have drawn up. Rather, this was a trade hypothetical drawn up by NBA Analysis Net, a site that comes up with a handful of these. To reiterate, I did not come up with this trade.

Seems like a simple concept, but you’d be surprised how many people struggle with this. If you come after me for creating this trade, I will screenshot these two paragraphs and send them to you. But I digress.

This time around, NBA Analysis Net came up with another tantalizing trade hypothetical involving a simple player swap that could have huge implications for both teams.

Here’s what the trade looks like.

Upon first glance, it just seems like an odd trade. Both teams should be relatively happy with their young bigs and neither team has a ton of room to plug the other player into their lineup.

For example, the Grizzlies have Jonas Valanciunas at the center spot, a player who still has a bright future in Memphis. The Warriors have Draymond Green, arguably the best defender in the league who can’t really move to the center spot on a full-time basis.

Jaren Jackson Jr. and James Wiseman are great fits for each of their respective teams. Trading them would certainly mix things up, but would it benefit either team?

The Memphis Grizzlies are unlikely to trade one of their biggest future assets in Jaren Jackson Jr.

At the end of the day, this trade seems unlikely to happen. That said, it’s not the most far-fetched hypothetical in the world.

Both of these teams have been happy with what they’ve gotten out of their young bigs, but each of them seem a long way from their respective ceilings. Jackson had a strange season, filled with injuries, while Wiseman had a strong start to his career, averaging 11.5 PPG and 5.8 RPG.

Jackson Jr., on the other hand, is averaging over 15 points per contest in his career, shooting the ball better than nearly every big in the league at 37.4%. Right now, he is an objectively better player than Wiseman and exactly what the Memphis Grizzlies need.

Trading away Jaren Jackson Jr. would change the Grizzlies’ entire plan going forward. Swapping two players with similar ceilings serves no purpose for either side.

And that’s the bottom line.

After a playoff season in 2021, the Grizzlies are shooting for an NBA Playoff run every single season from here on out. They could do this trade, but why would they do it?

JJJ seems happy in Memphis, writing out a tweet expressing his love for the city he lives in.

Had this trade hypothetical been proposed a year ago under the same circumstances, this may have been a more interesting trade for the Grizz. That said, if you’re the Memphis Grizzlies front office, you have to roll with your guys right now.

Expect Zach Kleiman and his entourage to do just that.

Jackson had a relative down year in 2021 but will be sure to bounce back next season. With this, we should see the Grizzlies improve again in a rebuild that is way ahead of schedule.