GG Jackson Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Grizzlies Notes: Deadline Moves, Bane, Smart, Clarke, Jackson

February 9th, 2024 at 1:58pm CST by Luke Adams

Victor Oladipo and Chimezie Metu have already been waived, but the two other players acquired by the Grizzlies in their recent series of trades – Lamar Stevens and Yuta Watanabe – are expected to get an opportunity to play over the next couple months, writes Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. Stevens is on an expiring deal, while Watanabe holds a minimum-salary player option for 2024/25.

The Grizzlies also hope to get a longer look down the stretch at Ziaire Williams and Jake LaRavia, two former first-round picks who are currently sidelined due to injuries. As Cole writes, head of basketball operations Zach Kleiman showed by trading David Roddy on Thursday that he’s willing to move on from recent first-rounders who haven’t established themselves as consistent, productive rotation contributors, but that doesn’t mean he’s ready to give up on players like Williams or LaRavia.

“We’re in a spot where we have a lot of young players,” Kleiman said. “Nothing has been ruled out. Let me say that. I think that everyone at the very least has shown that in stretches, there’s a lot to be encouraged by. What we’re focused on right now is giving those guys opportunity. Wouldn’t surprise me if some guys emerge and maybe surprise people.”

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Having traded away Steven Adams and Xavier Tillman, the Grizzlies’ plans at center going forward are unclear. Their 2024 first-round pick, which projects to be a top-10 selection, may factor into that equation, Cole notes, since it could serve as a valuable trade asset or an opportunity to add a young blue-chipper to the roster. “Wherever that pick might be, we want to be in a position where we’re able to kind of navigate and steer that in different directions,” Kleiman said.
The Grizzlies project to be a luxury tax team next season based on their current commitments. Kleiman told reporters, including Cole, that’s not something the club is actively working to avoid. “There’s not a budget that we have to operate from,” Kleiman said. “There’s not a place that we need to be relative to any marker or luxury tax. . . . Those are all things we’ll have to weigh from a team-building standpoint.”
There’s still no timeline for the returns of Desmond Bane (left ankle), Marcus Smart (right ring finger), or Brandon Clarke (left Achilles), according to Kleiman. He indicate that Bane and Smart are expected to be out at least through the All-Star break and expressed optimism Clarke can return this season. “Brandon’s doing really well in his recovery,” Kleiman said, per Cole. “We’ll make a determination when we get a little bit closer. . . . Regardless of record, a little cameo at the end of the season just to build momentum going into next season, I think that’s something that’s potentially still on the table.”
As Jonah Dylan of The Memphis Commercial Appeal details, the Grizzlies players who remained on the roster through Thursday’s trade deadline were sorry to see Tillman and Roddy go. “I’m obviously upset and gutted and I feel bad,” said Jaren Jackson Jr., who played with Tillman at Michigan State before spending the past four seasons with him in Memphis. “It’s just part of the business. I’ve been here a long time. But it doesn’t get easier, for sure.”
GG Jackson‘s new four-year deal with the Grizzlies will be worth $8.5MM over four seasons, with $6.1MM in guaranteed money, tweets Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. A minimum-salary deal would be worth in the range of $7MM, so it sounds like Jackson will receive significantly more than the prorated rookie minimum for the rest of the 2023/24 season.

Grizzlies Sign GG Jackson To Four-Year Deal

February 9th, 2024 at 9:02am CST by Luke Adams

FEBRUARY 9: The Grizzlies officially announced their new deal with Jackson, confirming in a press release that Metu has been waived to make room on the 15-man roster for Jackson’s promotion (Twitter link).

FEBRUARY 8: The Grizzlies and rookie GG Jackson have agreed to a four-year deal that will include three guaranteed seasons, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). The agreement will promote Jackson, who had been on a two-way contract, to Memphis’ standard 15-man roster.

The 45th overall pick in the 2023 draft, Jackson is the youngest player in the NBA this season and wasn’t part of the Grizzlies’ rotation to open the 2023/24 campaign. However, with the team plagued by injuries and no longer in serious contention for a playoff spot, Jackson has been given an opportunity in recent weeks and has run with it.

The former South Carolina standout had averaged 12.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 23.4 minutes per game with a shooting line of .445/.385/.692 in his previous 13 games entering play on Thursday. He had the best game of his young career against the Bulls on Thursday night, racking up 27 points on 9-of-18 shooting and grabbing nine rebounds in 32 minutes off the bench.

After making a pair of trades at the deadline with Boston and Phoenix, the Grizzlies have a full 15-man roster, but they reportedly intend to waive newly acquired big man Chimezie Metu, which would open a spot for Jackson to slide into. Once his promotion is official, Memphis will have an open two-way contract slot.

The Grizzlies figure to use a portion of their mid-level exception to sign Jackson to his new deal.

Southwest Notes: Grizzlies, Mavs’ Trade Prospects, Matkovic, Udoka

February 5th, 2024 at 9:01am CST by Arthur Hill

Thirteen of the Grizzlies‘ 15 players on standard contracts were sidelined by injuries for Sunday’s 40-point loss at Boston, writes Damichael Cole of The Commercial Appeal. David Roddy and Luke Kennard were joined by three players on two-way contracts and three others on 10-day hardship deals as Memphis barely met the requirement of having eight active players for the game.

Coach Taylor Jenkins unveiled a makeshift starting lineup — his 30th of the season — consisting of Roddy, Kennard, G.G. Jackson, Trey Jemison and Jacob Gilyard. Jemison picked up two fouls in the game’s first minute, leaving 6’9″ forward Tosan Evbuomwan to match up with 7’3″ Kristaps Porzingis.

While the Grizzlies were clearly overmatched, some players are taking advantage of the opportunity. Cole singles out Jackson, who became the focus of the offense and scored 18 points on 24 shots, and Scotty Pippen Jr., who led the team with 19 points off the bench, as two who stood out.

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Finding a power forward with size — preferably one who can shoot from the outside and contribute on both ends of the court — is the Mavericks‘ priority heading into Thursday’s trade deadline, multiple sources tell Tim Cato of The Athletic. He adds that the team could also use a backup center who can protect the rim, noting that Dallas is often forced to play zone against larger teams. Cato points out that rivals such as the Thunder and Jazz may be in the market for similar players and have more assets to offer than Dallas does.
Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News also assesses the Mavericks‘ trade outlook, observing that the 2027 pick is the team’s only tradeable first-rounder and suggesting that Josh Green, Jaden Hardy or Olivier-Maxence Prosper would likely have to be included in any significant deal.
As expected, Pelicans prospect Karlo Matkovic has left his KK Cedevita Olimpija team and is headed to New Orleans, according to Cesare Milanti of Eurohoops. Matkovic’s role with the organization hasn’t been defined publicly, but the Pelicans have one opening on their 15-man roster and Malcolm Hill‘s 10-day contract is about to expire. It’s also possible that Matkovic, a 6’11” power forward/center, will be signed to a G League deal and join the organization’s affiliate in Birmingham.
Rockets coach Ime Udoka was disappointed after watching his offense sputter against one of the league’s best defenses in Sunday’s loss at Minnesota, per Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. “The lack of reaction was not making the easy play, making the easy pass to a teammate, driving into a crowd, trying to play through double-teams,” Udoka said. “A four-point game at half, we talked about … all these open shots that we left on the table by driving to a crowd (against) the No. 1 team defensively, top five in packing the paint, protecting the paint, what they give up in the paint.”

Southwest Notes: VanVleet, Whitmore, Jackson, Pelicans

January 29th, 2024 at 9:18pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Rockets paid a huge price to add Fred VanVleet in free agency. He’s given them an unexpected bonus — a shot-blocking specialist from the backcourt, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle notes.

VanVleet holds the team lead with 41 blocks. He’s fourth among NBA guards in total blocks, though he believes some of those blocks could have been called steals.

“They’re strips, but I’ll take the blocks,” VanVleet said. “I think any deflection is good. I mean, this is probably my lowest activity I’ve had as a defender in a while. Just getting used to Coach’s (Ime Udoka) system. It’s a little bit different than how we played in Toronto. But there’s all different types of defense and rim protection. Whether it’s strips or deflections or making guys uncomfortable, I pride myself in having good hands.”

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Rockets rookie forward Cam Whitmore was given an invitation to participate in the dunk contest during All-Star weekend but he declined, Feigen reports. Whitmore is willing to participate in future All-Star dunk contests but needs to come up with some creative dunks in the meantime. “I got asked twice for the dunk contest and I said no. I’m waiting until the time comes,” he said. “I don’t see myself as a dunker. I don’t have anything up my sleeve right now. But in year two, year three, when I establish myself as somebody in this league, yeah I’ll do it.”
Did GG Jackson come out too soon to the NBA? One talent evaluator interviewed by Damichael Cole of the Memphis Commercial Appeal feels that way. Jackson was selected with the No. 45 pick by the Grizzlies last June. Rafael Barlowe said Jackson might have cashed in as the top pick in this year’s draft if he had stayed in college. Jackson has scored in double digits in five of his last eight NBA appearances. “If he stayed in this class, he would have had another year of maturity, and the things that he’s doing right now, he’d be doing them on the college level,” Barlowe said. “I don’t think there would be anybody better.”
The Pelicans haven’t proven themselves against top-level competition, Christian Clark of the New Orleans Times-Picayune notes. This month, they have faced the Clippers, Nuggets, Suns, Thunder and Bucks and lost those matchups by an average of 18 points. “My biggest feeling about it is that we are capable, but we haven’t given ourselves a chance to win those types of games yet,” coach Willie Green said. “This is good experience for us coming down the stretch. We definitely know we have room for improvement.” New Orleans gave away a 17-point lead to Boston on Monday and lost, 118-112.

Southwest Notes: Grizzlies, Udoka, Brooks, Eason, Ryan

January 20th, 2024 at 7:30pm CST by Arthur Hill

The injuries that have short-circuited the Grizzlies‘ season are providing more minutes for their young players and giving management a chance to evaluate them for the future, writes Michael Wallace of Grind City Media. With Ja Morant out for the rest of the season and Desmond Bane and Marcus Smart not expected back until late February, Memphis is relying on some unfamiliar names in an effort to remain competitive.

“It’s an opportunity for us young guys to develop and to try to win games, too,” said second-year power forward David Roddy. “It’s something we’re going to rely on in years to come, these pivotal games and this pivotal point in the season for our development. Just make it simple. Share the ball as much as we can, attack the rim and the paint. Be calm, relax and have fun.”

Among those getting an opportunity is 19-year-old rookie G.G. Jackson, who started the season in the G League but recently became the second-youngest player in league history with back-to-back 20-point games. Coach Taylor Jenkins said he’s still determining the best way to use the 6’9″ Jackson, who’s versatile enough to handle several positions.

“Figuring out what position he’ll play will come in time,” Jenkins said. “We want to continue to challenge him to be a better defender and rebounder. But the fact he’s super coachable, loves the game and wants to get better each day, I’m excited to see what transpires moving forward.”

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The Rockets held their first practice session of 2024 on Friday as they try to fix the defensive issues that led to a 1-5 road trip, per Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle. Coach Ime Udoka emphasized to his players that they need to concentrate on what worked earlier this season. “With a younger team, you want to keep giving them reminders of what made us successful early, and the chance to get through and walk through some things and bang around a little bit, it was good for us,” Udoka said. “It felt just normal to what we were doing earlier and that’s why we had the success.”
Dillon Brooks and Tari Eason weren’t available for Friday’s practice, Lerner adds, and while Brooks is playing tonight against Utah, the Rockets will have to survive a while longer without Eason, who is missing his 10th straight game. “No setback,” Udoka said. “He just is on the timeline where we’re giving him the time to operate and try to get healthy. And you know, the pain tolerance is a thing. Like I said, he was playing through some pain and we want to make sure that’s gone before he comes back. So an extended amount of time is what has been diagnosed for him.”
Pelicans forward Matt Ryan said he feels “92%” recovered after undergoing elbow surgery last month, tweets Will Guillory of The Athletic. Ryan adds that his shot feels fine and he’s working toward his return.

Southwest Notes: Whitmore, Sengun, Jackson, Grizzlies, Kleber

January 18th, 2024 at 10:39pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Rockets rookie Cam Whitmore took a patient approach to entering Houston’s rotation but was eager to be on the court and show what he could do, writes The Athletic’s Kelly Iko. The 20th overall pick in the 2023 draft said it was a challenge to bounce between the Rockets and their G League affiliate.

“It’s a struggle because I love the game of basketball and I want to play basketball,” Whitmore added. “At the end of the day, just be patient. That’s really it.”

Whitmore’s patience paid off in an eight-game stretch from Jan. 3-15 in which he played 20.1 minutes a night and averaged 12.5 points while shooting 38.2% from deep. Whitmore credited the G League with helping him get up to speed on the offensive side of the ball, writes Houston Chronicle’s Jonathan Feigen.

At 6’7″ and 235 pounds, Whitmore has the tools to be an effective defensive player, Feigen writes, but he knows that’s an area of the game he has to work on.

“My awareness on defense,” Whitmore said when asked what he needs to improve. “That’s really it. Being locked in on the defensive side of the ball. Once I get that down pat, everything else will fall into place. That’s the main thing; awareness on the defensive end off ball.”

After playing in 23 minutes and scoring 14 points on Jan. 15 against the Sixers, Whitmore played just under nine minutes in the following game against the Knicks.

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Rockets head coach Ime Udoka was an assistant coach on the Sixers from 2019-20, working closely with superstar Joel Embiid, writes Feigen. Udoka sees some similarities between Embiid and Houston center Alperen Sengun. “It’s rare in this day and age with actual low-post scorers. These are two of the best in the game right now,” Udoka said. “With Alperen, I’m imparting some of the same wisdom, things I talked to Joel about, which is professionalism, the approach. When you’ve had that losing early on, breaking those bad habits is something I’m constantly on him about. Skill level and talent, he wants to be coached hard and wants to be held accountable.“
The Grizzlies — marred with injuries to stars and starters — defeated the Warriors in Draymond Green‘s return on Monday behind contributions from several young players. Vince Williams Jr., who was recently converted to a standard contract, led the team in scoring with 24 points. Two-way player GG Jackson scored a career-high 23 points, his second straight game with 20 or more points. At 19 years old, he became the second youngest player in NBA history to record 20+ points in back-to-back games (Twitter link via NBA). “Big win for the Grizzlies, and definitely got to shout out big win for the [Memphis] Hustle as well,” head coach Taylor Jenkins said via AP’s Clay Bailey. “This is a product of full-on development.“
The Mavericks got Maxi Kleber back from a toe injury on Saturday, his first game action since Dec. 8. His workload has increased in each game since his return. Kleber spoke more about the injury with Mavs.com’s Eddie Sefko. “It felt good. I just got to get used to it, get my rhythm back, get my wind back,” Kleber said after Dallas’ Saturday game against the Pelicans. “But overall I’m just happy. It held together in limited minutes. The second half was a little rougher just because it was sore from the first half. But overall, a good day.“

Southwest Notes: Grizzlies, Spurs, Wembanyama, D. Jones

January 9th, 2024 at 5:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Don’t expect the Grizzlies to immediately throw in the towel following news of Ja Morant‘s season-ending shoulder surgery, writes Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. While the postseason is a long shot for the 13-23 squad, Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. are playing as well as they ever have, and Marcus Smart has never been on a team that missed the playoffs, Cole observes.

Still, with Morant and Adams out for the season, the front office can probably start looking ahead to next season and considering what the 2024/25 roster will look like. With that in mind, the coaching staff will have an opportunity in the coming months to evaluate players like Jake LaRavia, G.G. Jackson, and Vince Williams to get a better sense of what the Grizzlies have in those youngsters, says Cole.

Pointing out that Memphis still needs a starting-caliber forward to fill the hole created by Dillon Brooks‘ offseason departure, John Hollinger of The Athletic wonders if the team might actually be more inclined to make an in-season consolidation trade following Morant’s injury. As Hollinger explains, the Grizzlies could “start tackling next year’s problems without worrying so much about the impacts on this season.”

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

French phenom Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs will be one of the teams playing in the NBA’s annual Paris game next season, reports Joe Vardon of The Athletic. Although nothing’s official yet, the Spurs have agreed in principle to participate, sources tell Vardon.
Elsewhere on the Wembanyama front, Mike Finger of The San Antonio Express-News argues that the Spurs should make the big man’s life easier by finding a way to get him more playing time alongside a traditional point guard, while the 20-year-old spoke this week about getting over the frustration caused by his ongoing minutes restriction. “It’s hard, but my body needs time to adapt to the load and this long season,” Wembanyama said, per Vardon. “Once it’s ready, it’s go time, and there will be no need to be frustrated.”
Derrick Jones‘ one-year, minimum-salary contract with the Mavericks wasn’t among last summer’s biggest free agent deals, but Jones’ impact on Dallas’ defense has been noticeable, according to Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News, who says the wing’s athleticism , effort, and instincts have helped the team cover up some weaknesses on that end of the court.

Western Notes: Booker, Vassell, Jazz Starters, Jackson

November 8th, 2023 at 7:16pm CST by Rory Maher

The Suns are optimistic that Devin Booker might return for the team’s upcoming homestand, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports (Twitter video link via The Rally).

As Charania notes, Phoenix has home games on Friday, Sunday and next Wednesday. According to Charania, Friday is a possibility.

Booker has battled three different injuries this fall, with the latest being a right calf strain. He has appeared in just two of the Suns’ eight games thus far in 2023/24.

Fellow guard Bradley Beal made his Suns regular season debut on Wednesday after battling a back injury.

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After previously being listed as doubtful, Spurs guard Devin Vassell returned to action on Wednesday in New York, as first reported by Charania (via Twitter) and later confirmed by the team (Twitter link via Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News). However, Vassell did not return to the starting lineup: second-year guard Malaki Branham will continue in that role for now. Vassell missed the past two games with a left adductor strain.
Jazz center Walker Kessler is out at least two weeks with an elbow injury. Instead of replacing him with another big man, head coach Will Hardy decided to make a couple changes to the team’s starting lineup on Wednesday vs. Indiana. Rookie Keyonte George replaced Talen Horton-Tucker at point guard, while second-year wing Ochai Agbaji started at small forward, as Sarah Todd of The Deseret News relays. “Keyonte has played really well,” Hardy said. “I think he’s shown a very quick learning curve on both ends of the floor.” Jordan Clarkson remained the starting shooting guard, with Lauri Markkanen (power forward) and John Collins (center) each sliding up a spot in the frontcourt.
G.G. Jackson, who is the youngest player in the NBA, likely won’t see many minutes for the Grizzlies. In fact, he’s only played one minute over their first seven games. However, the second-round pick is expected to have an expanded role with the Memphis Hustle, the Grizzlies’ G League club, writes Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. “I kind of got a little bit more lenience, so I got to become comfortable,” said Jackson, who is on a two-way contract.

Contract Details: Mykhailiuk, Harrison, Washington, More

September 5th, 2023 at 3:15pm CST by Luke Adams

The contract that Svi Mykhailiuk signed with the Celtics is a one-year, minimum-salary deal that is partially guaranteed for $200K, Hoops Rumors has learned. If Mykhailiuk remains under contract through at least the start of the regular season, his partial guarantee would increase to 50% of his $2,346,614 salary, which works out to $1,173,307. He’d be assured of his full salary for 2023/24 if he isn’t waived on or before January 7.

Here are more details on a few recently signed contracts:

Shaquille Harrison‘s contract with the Grizzlies is a non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 deal, Hoops Rumors has learned. While there has been some speculation that Harrison could fill the extra roster spot Memphis will create after the first five games of the season (when Ja Morant can be moved to the suspended list), he seems unlikely to make the opening-night roster. So if the Grizzlies want to have him fill that spot, Harrison would likely be waived and then re-signed.
As previously reported, P.J. Washington‘s contract with the Hornets is worth exactly $46.5MM, with $1.5MM in total incentives ($500K per year). It’s fully guaranteed with no options. Since his bonuses are considered unlikely, Washington’s first-year cap hit is $16,847,826; he’ll make a base salary of $15.5MM in year two and $14,152,174 in year three.
The two-way contracts recently signed by GG Jackson (Grizzlies) and TyTy Washington (Bucks) are each just for one year, so both players will be eligible for restricted free agency in 2024.

Grizzlies Sign Shaquille Harrison, GG Jackson

August 31st, 2023 at 4:01pm CST by Rory Maher

In a pair of press releases (Twitter links), the Grizzlies officially announced the signings of Shaquille Harrison and GG Jackson II.

While the terms of Harrison’s contract were not disclosed, Memphis has used its third and final two-way opening on Jackson, who was one of the few remaining 2023 draft picks who had yet to ink a contract, as shown by our tracker.

Harrison, 29, is a six-year NBA veteran who was waived by the Lakers in June before his salary for 2023/24 became guaranteed. He had eight brief playoff cameos for the Lakers in 2022/23 after signing on the last day of the regular season. Harrison had just finished a 10-day hardship deal with Portland prior to his stint in L.A.

Overall, the guard has appeared in 180 regular season games with Phoenix, Chicago, Utah, Denver, Brooklyn and Portland, holding career averages of 5.3 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 1.7 APG and 1.0 SPG on .435/.281/.718 shooting in 15.4 MPG. Harrison also signed a 10-day hardship deal with the Grizzlies in ’21/22, though he never played a game for Memphis.

Known as a strong defender, Harrison spent the majority of the past two seasons in the G League, winning NBAGL Defensive Player of the Year in ’21/22 and finishing third last season. A report last month indicated he was drawing EuroLeague interest, but instead he’ll be returning to Memphis.

As Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian tweets, Harrison could be in line for NBA minutes once the Grizzlies receive an extra roster slot. Memphis will be able to move guard Ja Morant to the suspended list, opening up a 15-man slot, after the fifth game of his 25-game ban.

Jackson was the 45th pick in June after one college season at South Carolina. He was a highly touted prospect entering college and one of the youngest players in his draft class after reclassifying, but had an uneven freshman season for the Gamecocks.

Overall, the 18-year-old averaged 15.4 PPG and 5.9 RPG in ’22/23, posting a subpar .384/.324/.677 shooting line in 32 games (31.9 MPG). Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal previously wrote that Jackson would likely receive a two-way deal and spend most of the upcoming season in the G League.

The Grizzlies have reached the offseason maximum of 21 players under contract, and they’ll have to make some roster moves ahead of training camp. 17 of their players are on guaranteed standard deals, which means they might have some dead-money cap hits this season unless they make a consolidation trade.