Jaren Jackson Jr Wednesday night returned to Memphis for the first time since his surprise trade to Jazz in February, writes Shreyas Ladda of The Salt Lake Tribune. In a way, it felt like a home game because the fans, many of whom were dressed in their former Grizzlies knitwear The game didn’t go the way Jackson had hoped, as he fouled out 28 minutes into the game with 15 points and five turnovers, but the return to the city where he spent the first seven-plus years of his NBA career was memorable.
“I will always have some emotions when you go back to a place – you must have memories,” Jackson said. “I had a job to do and I didn’t get it done. Gotta go home and regroup.”
Emotions intensified on Wednesday thanks to the tribute v Brandon Clarkwho died in May. He and Jackson became close friends during their time together as a team.
“hard”, Jackson said. “He’s my brother forever. He’s had a big impact on the community here. It’s always going to be tough. Just keep it different. Great video though. Great memory. He’s my dog watching over us forever.”
More about jazz:
- Utah is counting Ace Bailey to become a “two-sided player,” Ladda argues in a a separate story. Multiple team sources told Laddha that watching Bailey progress defensively has been one of the highlights of training camp. “Hurt will come” said the second-year forward. “I’m not worried about the offense. I mean, I can score. He’s just focused on defense, just being the two-way player that we need.”
- In the video diary, Darrin Peterson says he expected him to be the top pick in this year’s draft until he became commissioner Adam Silver made an official statement, relay Mark J. Spears from Andscape. Peterson believes he is the best player in this year’s class, but added that he was happy to end up in Utah with the No. 2 pick. He also played down talk of a rivalry with A. Ya. Dybants. “It’s more of a social media thing (between) me and him,” Peterson said. “When we were in (basketball) camps and that (NBA) Rookie Transition (Program), we spent some time together. Me and him were really cool. But I think it’s cool that we have a little me-versus-him thing, too. Why not? No. 1 pick vs. No. 2 pick. But he and I have a great relationship. We’re just two competitors.”
- As the Jazz hope to make a playoff run, By Na’Andre Emerson of The Deseret News sees if they can afford to keep their core together. The team currently ranks 5th in payroll, but a five-year, $157.5 million extension for Keyonte George will make the list much more expensive in the future. Emerson notes that the package of picks purchased from the Lakers at Walker Kessler the deal may ultimately be beneficial in keeping costs under control.
