The Memphis Grizzlies have confirmed a blockbuster trade that will see Jaren Jackson Jr leave the franchise and head to the Utah Jazz.
The Grizzlies will receive seven players in total from the Jazz for the forward, who only signed a five-year, $240 million maximum renegotiation-and-extension last year.
They will acquire guard Walter Clayton, swingman Kyle Anderson, forwards Taylor Hendricks and Georges Niang, and three future first-round picks, according to NBA Insider Shams Charania.
Jackson had previously spent his entire NBA career with the Grizzlies after being drafted as the fourth overall pick by the franchise back at the 2018 NBA Draft.
He has since earned two All-Star appearances and claimed the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year award for his performances back in 2023.
The decision to trade Jackson to the Jazz will no doubt come as a shock to some fans, given the power forward’s impressive form for the franchise so far this season.
Memphis Grizzlies star Jaren Jackson Jr has been traded to the Utah Jazz in a shock move
The Grizzlies will receive seven players in total from the Jazz for the power forward
The 26-year-old, across 45 games for the Grizzlies this year, has averaged 19.2 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game during the regular season.
According to reports, the Grizzlies will now have 13 first-round picks across the next seven years to aid in their rebuild.
The trade also suggests that the Grizzlies are preparing for complete roster overhaul, with star player Ja Morant likely to leave the franchise before the trade deadline.
Speaking on SportsCenter, Charania added: ‘The Grizzlies conversations on Ja Morant and entertaining offers is continuing around the league.
‘There are multiple teams with interest in Ja Morant. Trade conversations between now and Thursday are continuing to heat up’
For the first time since drafting him with the second overall pick in 2019, Memphis are said to be entertaining trade offers for their two-time All-Star ahead of the deadline on February 5.
Multiple teams are now pursuing a potential trade, with the player under contract through the 2027-28 season. He is also eligible to sign up to a three-year, $178million extension in the summer.
Morant, who is averaging 19 points and 7.6 assists in 28.3 minutes per game while shooting a career-low 40.1 percent from the field this season, has featured only 18 times for the Grizzlies in 2025-26 due to injuries and a one-game suspension for hitting out at coach Tuomas Iisalo and his staff back in September.
The trade could have major ramifications for Ja Morant’s future with the franchise
He has proven a controversial figure in Memphis after frequently landing himself in hot water off the court, including when he previously served a 25-game ban for flashing a gun on two separate live streams within the space of three months.
In March 2023, the former Murray State star was first seen waving a gun during an Instagram Live captured in Shotgun Willie’s, a strip club in Glendale, Colorado, following a loss to the Denver Nuggets.
The move sparked severe backlash with the NBA initially handing down an eight-game suspension to Morant, who checked himself into a private counseling facility in Colorado.
But eight games seemingly weren’t enough to drive the message home, as 10 weeks later he was caught in yet another gun-flashing incident.
