Memphis Grizzlies have gone all-in on Jaren Jackson Jr. and Ja Morant

The Memphis Grizzlies have their core two; will it work out long-term? 

A contract extension between the Memphis Grizzlies and Jaren Jackson Jr. has been finalized, agreed upon, and will ultimately be signed – if it hasn’t already. Despite an injury-plagued third season, the Grizzlies had decided they had seen enough.

The Grizzlies agreed to a four-year, $105 million extension with JJJ. Memphis’ success will now be tied to, relatively, two players on the roster over the course of the next few seasons – JJJ, especially with his contract extension, and Ja Morant.

At least from an objective standpoint, the overwhelming opinion on Morant has been decided. Most believe he’s going to be a really good player for a really long time. For JJJ, the verdict is still out. If not, it’s at least split.

If JJJ can reach his potential, there’s a chance that this contract will be viewed as a discount. If he is plagued by injury and never gets back to his pre-injury arc, then perhaps this contract will be viewed in the opposite direction.

Either way, it’s a risk that the Grizzlies were comfortable in making.

At his peak during his young career, JJJ is a versatile defensive stalwart and a more than capable offensive player. He averaged 17 points and five rebounds per game on 47 percent shooting from the field and 39 percent shooting from 3-point range during his sophomore season.

He never really got his feet under during his third season, in which he only played in 11 games. Still, he averaged 14 points and six rebounds on 42 percent shooting from the field.

This will be a big season for JJJ and a big one for the Grizzlies.

The big question is whether or not this will end up being a mistake or not. It’s not an outrageous extension, but it sure is one that could prevent the team from spending big money elsewhere in the future. Memphis’ future is tied up in JJJ and Morant being the real deal and a duo that could potentially catapult them up the standings in the Western Conference.

Can they do that? We’ll get a good idea of that this season, assuming both can remain healthy for a full season.