Former NBA champion-turned-analyst Kendrick Perkins gave a huge shoutout to the Memphis Grizzlies after they traded Jaren Jackson Jr. to the Utah Jazz in an eight-player trade, which has yielded them three first-rounders, Walter Clayton Jr., Kyle Anderson, Georges Niang, and Taylor Hendricks.
Perkins, a staunch critic of Jackson, believes this is the right move because the Memphis Grizzlies have been seemingly going nowhere over the past few months, and kickstarting a full-scale rebuild is the only way to go.
“Shoutout to the Memphis Grizzlies because they have been witnessing the same thing we have been seeing. We thought you was going to be that dude. But what we been watching for the last year and a half is that you’re not that guy that we could go depend on. When you talk about the most overhyped guys in the NBA, he is number 1 on my list,” Perkins said of Jackson in the Road Trippin podcast.
“I don’t give a damn. When you talk about a guy who has that hell of a skillset, I question his motor,” he continued. “He should be out there at least giving you 17 and 8 a night – minimum. And he don’t rebound.”
Memphis Grizzlies News: Ja Morant is “expected to be moved next”, per insider
After trading with the Utah Jazz, the Memphis Grizzlies now have 13 future first-round picks over the next seven years to help kickstart their rebuild. According to Kelly Iko of Yahoo Sports, rival executives expect a reduction in their asking price for Ja Morant to fast-track his departure.
“Sources said Morant has a diminished market — with interested teams wary of meeting Memphis’ previous demands. The Grizzlies are becoming increasingly aware they won’t recoup a similar haul compared to what Jackson or Desmond Bane procured in a Morant deal, sources said,” Iko explained.
“A curtailing of Morant’s price should appeal to Miami and Minnesota, two of the interested teams that have been monitoring the situation — while keeping the bulk of their assets focused on Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo. (There is a growing thought the Heat would grant Morant the extension he’s been seeking, sources said.),” he added.
