The Phoenix Suns unloaded 2017 fourth-overall pick Josh Jackson on the Memphis Grizzlies yesterday, after a tumultuous but oh-so-promising two-year stint with the franchise. Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic broke down exactly what went wrong for the once-prized prospect.
A plethora of red flags spoiled Jackson’s reputation off the court and eventually that proved to trump even his best performances on it. To Jackson’s credit, he managed to show high-ceiling talent despite playing for three different head coaches with three different playing styles, but the downside proved to much to bear for a young Suns organization that desperately needs to start moving forward.
Jackson averaged 17.0 points and 6.1 rebounds with over a block and a steal per games in games in which he played 30 or more minutes, but those flashes of excellence were few and far between as the Suns swingman struggled with his shot and controlling his emotions.
The Grizzlies, another team in the midst of a rebuild, will hope that a fresh start is enough to put the former Suns prospect back on the right track.
There’s more from the Pacific Division:
- While it’s quite likely Anthony Davis will make up the $4MM trade kicker he agreed to waive on his way to the Lakers with other opportunities, Arash Markazi of the Los Angeles Times writes that it’s a sign of his commitment to the new franchise.
- Despite the hoopla surrounding the mad pursuit of free agent Kawhi Leonard, life continues to go on for all the teams awaiting an answer. Mark Whicker of the Orange County Register writes that a contingent of Clippers players and staff are hard at work ensuring that the team will be prepared for the upcoming season.
- The deadline for the Kings to dump point guard Yogi Ferrell has come and gone. He’ll remain with the franchise. Earlier today we wrote about how the club parted ways with Frank Mason III, Sacramento’s other potential third-string point guard.
AD demands a trade and then goes to the team he wants to go to and it is considered “ a sign of commitment “. What about the big spoiled baby cried and got his way and it cost just 4 million. The NBA is now full of pathetic wussies. Thin skin Durant, Cryree, Kawhi “ I have to have the stars and moon align and nobody please harsh to me”. Makes me sick
Nope
Don’t watch then
Dude you are whining. Total hypocrite.
AD is the worse when he quit on his team in the middle of the season. No doubt there is nothing worse than sitting out and watching your team mates play hard. If Lakers do not get Leonard it will be all for nothing because they are not a playoff team without Leonard on it.
I haven’t seen very many (if any) talking heads describe Jackson’s game as oh-so-promising or high-ceilinged. The guy’s been easily below replacement level so far.
Jackson doesn’t have close to the 3rd overall pick value but he had way more than a couple 2nds
Have to agree with this…With his age, potential, his defensive versatility, and his ability to score despite lacking a consistent shot, I’d have to think Jackson should have at least been worth a late 1st round pick…
Excellent deal for Memphis, and I think the Suns will be regretting this one in two years…
You could be right. After all, they regretted drafting him after two years….
Suns are getting serious this year.
Josh Jackson is a slightly bigger version of Justise Winslow, but with a not as mature mindset off the court. I see the breakout waiting to happen if he is finally used right. The coaching in Phoenix the last couple of years has been terrible. I’m not sure about the fit in Memphis necessarily, as I feel like he needs some shooters around him, but its way too early to give up on his potential. His talent level is too high
If the Suns are so bad, then JJ is better off. System working, no problem.
Save some pity for HS athletes in some states that cannot transfer or can be transferred from dysfunctional schools/teams/coaches, nor from healthy programs that are simply the wrong level for the talent. They will be blocked from advancement, wasted, and nobody will care.
JJ will likely have more shots even beyond Memphis.
It wasnt pity as much as just saying that I still believe in the talent level of the kid, and compared it to a player that was arguably in a similar position in terms of how he was looked at offensively
“Pathetic wussies” said the basement dweller with no athletic ability.
So true!
Salary dumping deals being what they are, it’s silly to argue that Jackson could have yielded anything, since the trade that was made (when it was made) establishes conclusively that he has negative value (at least as far as the 30 NBA teams are concerned). If he had even neutral value, then the Suns would have been able to trade him into some team’s open cap space (it’s not like there was a shortage of it) and saved the full 7 mm. Instead of the 4 mm they saved (having to add second round picks to even get that). Does anyone really believe the Suns didn’t try to get rid of the entire contract? That there’s a team out there saying “damn, if we had known JJ was available, we’d have paid for him, vs being paid to take him”?
Of course, one could think that they know more than the entire NBA, but even if that’s somehow true, it doesn’t help the Suns much since they can only trade him to another NBA team.
I agree that I dont think they could have got more for him, but that doesnt mean it’s not their fault, and that he cant turn it around. It just means exactly what you said about his value on his current contract and the landscape of the league at the moment, and also taking advantage of leverage for the Suns, who were trying to clear salary