{"id":541084,"date":"2026-01-16T18:03:15","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T18:03:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/541084\/"},"modified":"2026-01-16T18:03:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T18:03:15","slug":"pistons-celtics-among-teams-to-express-interest-in-jaren-jackson-jr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/541084\/","title":{"rendered":"Pistons, Celtics Among Teams To Express Interest In Jaren Jackson Jr."},"content":{"rendered":"

While the Grizzlies have made<\/a> point guard Ja Morant<\/a> available, there\u2019s no indication that stance has extended to big man Jaren Jackson Jr.<\/a> In fact, multiple<\/a> reports<\/a> have indicated that Memphis wants to hang onto Jackson and build around him.<\/p>\n

\"\"Still, that hasn\u2019t stopped a certain agent-turned-podcast-host from speculating about a potential trade<\/a> involving Jackson, and it hasn\u2019t stopped teams from calling the Grizzlies to register interest in the former Defensive Player of the Year. According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype<\/a>, the Pistons and Celtics are among the teams to convey their interest.<\/p>\n

Detroit has Jalen Duren<\/a> and Isaiah Stewart<\/a> in its frontcourt but has been in the market for a power forward or center who can stretch the floor \u2014 Jackson fits that bill, having made 37.3% of 5.0 three-pointers per game since the start of last season. As for Boston, the 2024 champions lost Al Horford<\/a> and Luke Kornet<\/a> in 2025 free agency while also trading away Kristaps Porzingis<\/a>, so it makes sense that the Celtics would be seeking an impact big man.<\/p>\n

As Scotto points out, if the Grizzlies traded both Morant and Jackson, it would create a path for the club to rebuild around a younger core led by Cedric Coward<\/a>, Zach Edey<\/a>, and Jaylen Wells<\/a>. While Memphis still views Jackson \u2013 who is just 26 years old and is under contract through at least 2029 \u2013 as a part of that core, more teams figure to inquire about his availability if Morant is moved ahead of the February 5 deadline, Scotto writes.<\/p>\n

Scotto also checks in on Morant\u2019s market, citing league sources who say that the Heat, Bucks, Kings, Raptors, and Pelicans have expressed some interest. However, it sounds like most of those teams would only be interested in the two-time All-Star as a buy-low target.<\/p>\n

According to Scotto, there have been whispers for months that Morant and his camp view Miami as a favorable landing spot. But rival executives who spoke to HoopsHype believe the Heat\u2019s \u201cdream scenario\u201d would be landing Giannis Antetokounmpo<\/a> if he becomes available in the summer, so the club will be reluctant to give up any assets that would compromise that possibility.<\/p>\n

An ESPN report from earlier today<\/a> classified league-wide interest in Morant as \u201ctepid,\u201d and Sam Amick of The Athletic<\/a> has heard the same. According to Amick, Miami and Milwaukee are considered unlikely landing spots for the Grizzlies guard, while Sacramento doesn\u2019t view him as a great fit for its timeline and would be unwilling to include any draft capital in an offer. Scotto adds that some rival executives wondered whether the Nets or Rockets might have interest in Morant, but neither club seems to.<\/p>\n

Morant is currently sidelined with a right calf injury and didn\u2019t play in the NBA\u2019s first ever regular season game in Germany on Thursday. Amid rumors<\/a> that Morant doesn\u2019t want to play for Memphis at all anymore, commissioner Adam Silver said he\u2019s hopeful the star guard will be able to suit up on Sunday in London.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know he has a tremendous following globally,\u201d Silver said ahead of Thursday\u2019s game in Berlin, per Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press<\/a>. \u201cAnd I wish he were able to play tonight. I\u2019m still holding out hope he\u2019ll be able to play when we\u2019re in London on Sunday. So, yes, I\u2019m disappointed he\u2019s not on the floor tonight, but I understand he\u2019s injured.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"While the Grizzlies have made point guard Ja Morant available, there\u2019s no indication that stance has extended to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":530471,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3795],"tags":[7,123,294,178,496,293,177,4070,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-541084","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-memphis-grizzlies","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-giannis-antetokounmpo","10":"tag-grizzlies","11":"tag-ja-morant","12":"tag-jaren-jackson-jr","13":"tag-memphis","14":"tag-memphis-grizzlies","15":"tag-memphisgrizzlies","16":"tag-nba"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/115906099095327430","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/541084","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=541084"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/541084\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/530471"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=541084"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=541084"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=541084"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}