\u00a0eight-player deal<\/a> that would bring three future first-round draft picks to Memphis, along with Utah players Walter Clayton Jr., Kyle Anderson, Taylor Hendricks, and Georges Niang. In exchange, the Grizzlies are sending Jackson Jr., John Konchar, Jock Landale and Vince Williams Jr. to Utah.<\/p>\nJackson Jr., a two-time NBA All-Star and former Defensive Player of the Year, was drafted by the Grizzlies at 19 years old and has spent his entire professional career up to this point in Memphis. His departure marks the end of a defining chapter for the franchise.<\/p>\n
Mayor Young said that while Jackson\u2019s presence on the court will be missed, his contributions to the city off the court will leave a lasting mark.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe will definitely be missed, and we know that he will always have a home here,\u201d Young said.<\/p>\n
Drafted as a teenager, Jackson grew up in Memphis under the spotlight of professional sports. Young pointed to the player\u2019s community involvement as a major part of his legacy.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis impact off the court was equally as powerful,\u201d Young said. \u201cIf you look at the investments he made with the [National Civil Rights Museum] and the camps he supported for young people, those are the things we will really miss as a community. We had the opportunity to watch him grow up into a man, and we are proud of him. We always will be.\u201d<\/p>\n
From a basketball perspective, Young said the trade does not signal a loss of faith in the team\u2019s future.<\/p>\n
\u201cI still think the future is bright for the Grizzlies,\u201d he said. \u201cIt hurts to see Jaren and the other players leave who were part of this trade, but we look forward to welcoming the new players and using those draft picks well in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
As the Grizzlies move forward, fans across Memphis are reflecting on Jackson\u2019s time with the team and what he represented to the city.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou will forever and always be a Memphian,\u201d Grizzlies superfan Antonio Braxton Sr. said. \u201cYou gave your heart and soul to this city. You were always about the fans and the kids. Much respect to you and much success in Utah.\u201d<\/p>\n
With the NBA trade deadline set for Feb. 5, the Grizzlies may not be done making moves. Fans are watching closely to see what could come next for the roster.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Memphis’ mayor said the All-Star\u2019s impact goes beyond basketball as the team looks ahead to the trade deadline.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":449296,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[64],"tags":[355,99],"class_list":["post-449295","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/449295","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=449295"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/449295\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/449296"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=449295"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=449295"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=449295"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}