The Grizzlies' injury misfortunes of the last couple of seasons are well documented, and now their most reliable player of the last two seasons rejoins the fray. Jaren Jackson Jr. played the most combined games for the team the last two seasons (140 out of 164), but risks missing the start of the next season after suffering a turf toe injury.
The newly extended star forward led off the NBA's free agency headlines on June 30th with a five-year, $240 million deal. However, 24 hours later, the Grizzlies dropped the news bomb that he will need a procedure to repair the injury he suffered in a basketball run offsite.
After the departure of Desmond Bane last month, the Grizzlies have rebuilt the roster to support a Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. tandem rather than a big three. Now, the team runs the risk of missing one of their stars, and their entire frontcourt.
Jackson Jr.'s injury timeline is unknown at the moment
This marks the third consecutive season the Grizzlies risk missing key rotational players to begin their next season. Ja Morant received a 25-game suspension in 2023, GG Jackson suffered a broken foot injury in 2024, and Zach Edey and Jaren Jackson Jr. suffered injuries whose timelines push up against the start of next season.
Jaren Jackson Jr.'s timeline to recover from the turf toe injury is unknown because he hasn't had the procedure yet. Once that is completed, speculation has varied from three months to six months of recovery time.
With the NBA training camp and preseason normally slated to begin in early October, the earliest Jackson Jr. will be able to return is within that time frame, with the potential to not be able to return until January. Starting center Zach Edey is already slated to be reevaluated for his offseason ankle surgery in October, risking him being out to begin the regular season too.
Missing your starting power forward, who happens to be one of your two star players, is already a potential blow to the Grizzlies' early-season prognosis. However, the team re-signed Santi Aldama, who has performed well when he had to start for 14 games in place of Jackson Jr. to start the 2022-23 season.
But the team already has a returning Brandon Clarke who missed the rest of last season with a PCL injury, along with the potential of Jackson Jr. and Edey missing the start of next season. The Grizzlies have a frontcourt issue that will likely need to be resolved throughout the rest of the offseason.