It’s been a tough season for the Memphis Grizzlies. After starting the year red-hot, the team plunged into a full nosedive the past two months, which hastened the inevitable rebuild that’s been a few years in the making. That started with trading Marc Gasol to the Raptors at the deadline, and though Mike Conley is still currently with the team, there’s no guarantee he’s in the long-term plans.
According to the organization, they’re hoping that Conley can use his remaining time in Memphis to help mentor sensational rookie Jaren Jackson Jr., who has quickly established himself as one of the best players of his draft class and is emerging as a potential franchise cornerstone for a team that has its sights set solely on the future.
But the Grizzlies got even more bad news on Friday when Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported that Jackson could miss significant time with quad injury.
Sources: Memphis Grizzlies rookie forward Jaren Jackson Jr., has suffered a right quad injury and will be sidelined for the foreseeable future. Organization will be cautious with its young star.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 23, 2019
On the one hand, it’s a tough pill to swallow for a team on which he was one of the few remaining bright spots. However, with the Grizzlies in full rebuild mode, this will only help their odds of securing a higher spot in the draft lottery.
Woj mentioned that the organization will be cautious with his recovery, and there’s really no reason to rush him back. It’ll be a tough stretch for Grizzlies fans, but they’ve endured worse, and at least they can hang onto some optimism about where the team is headed once he’s back and healthy and they’re building toward a new era in Memphis.
