Choose Your Own Adventure: Optimizing GG Jackson

Amid the hubbub surrounding the draft, and with the focus moving to Summer League, there was a bit of…not bad news.

There was a bit of interesting—there we go, interesting—news that flew under the radar. That news being that GG Jackson has yet to sign a contract with the Memphis Grizzlies.

There are actually eight rookies who have yet to sign contracts with their teams as of July 15th. As it stands, the Grizzlies happen to have drafted two of those guys.

Both Jackson and Tarik Biberovic have not signed any sort of contract to hoop in Memphis. Now Tarik most likely has another season overseas…a draft-and-stash project if I’ve ever seen one.

So where does this leave GG?

Well, it leaves him unsigned for starters. Which is never a good look out of your first draft pick.

You know, it seems the ideal scenario would be… You know, signing with the team that drafted him.

And you know… not prolonging anything for whatever reason. Am I wrong? The Grizzlies have a legitimate roster crunch on their hands. As such making decisions sooner could behoove the team.

To the Grizzlies I have questions, first among them: what’s the hold up?

GG Jackson is a pure scorer

Has a lot of development ahead but the talent is undeniable pic.twitter.com/tyxVWl0R6V

— Bryson (@BrysonWright3) June 23, 2023

Why haven’t you inked GG to a deal yet? Could it be the team is doing their due diligence with the 18 year old? A player that young, with that level of raw talent, may need meticulous supervision, perhaps?

The most logical answer here is that Memphis is waiting until they complete the rest of the roster. Will GG be on that main roster come game 1? Or will the Grizzlies choose to develop him elsewhere?

The choices abound as they ready Jackson for his NBA career.

!WARNING and BEWARE!

‘This piece is different from other pieces. You and YOU ALONE are in charge of what happens in this Memphis ‘offseason’. There are dangers, choices, adventures and consequences. YOU must use all of your numerous talents and much of your enormous intelligence. The wrong decision could end in disaster…even death…ok, maybe not death, but still…

But, don’t despair! At anytime, YOU can go back and make another choice, alter the path of your story, and change its result… with Summer League in the rearview mirror, you must determine the best route for the 45th overall pick, GG Jackson’s development…’

If you transfer him from the Hustle to the main roster turn to #2…

This is what I would consider to be the best, as well as the most likely, option to occur. It also makes the most logical sense if you think about it for longer than two shakes of lamb’s tail.

Recent history shows that Memphis is a big fan of signing guys to two-ways. The league’s two-way contracts will let teams keep more guys than the 15 allotted roster spots. It’s typical for players that sign these contracts to alternate their time between the main roster and the team’s G-League affiliate—in Memphis, that’s the Hustle.

But under the new CBA, two-ways continue to undergo change.

There are several things worth noting in the new document. The first being the number of two-way contracts a team can have. After being able to have 2 two-way contracts on the roster… that number has now increased to 3.

That’s the best news I’ve heard today.

the gg jackson flashes are always cool pic.twitter.com/yFV0BHt313

— Chip Williams (@chipwilliamsjr) July 15, 2023

Players that sign these contracts qualify to appear in 50 of the 82 games in the season. That’s if they’ve got a full man roster, and I don’t see that being a problem.

Not for these Grizzlies. They’ve got a roster that’s chock full. They’ve also got a roster full of guys that fueled their development by getting reps with the Hustle.

Xavier Tillman. John Konchar. Santi Aldama. Kenneth Lofton Jr. Vince Williams Jr. Jake LaRavia. The Memphis Hustle do it right down in Southhaven. Why not send GG Jackson down there next?

GG would dominate the G-league with his level of talent. The Grizzlies would also have the option to call him up to the big leagues for 50 games if they wanted. Jackson will have every opportunity to develop his game this way. Look for Memphis to consider this choice—and consider it hard.

If you utilize him as a valuable rotation piece turn to #6…

Now, let’s say all the guys show up to training camp ready and raring to go—GG included. What happens if he shows up and he shows even moderate improvement from Summer League?

Well, the Grizzlies may have to ride in the Express Lane if that’s the case. When it comes to how they use or don’t use GG, I mean. If he’s proving to be a few steps a head of the other young projects, why not give him the minutes?

One of the things that acts as a deterrent to young players is having their confidence tore down. If a coach is showing an unwillingness to deliver meaningful minutes to a young player… I mean how could that not get in your head and have you second-guessing everything?

GG Jackson had a really solid first outing with 10 points on 50% shooting and 2 blocks

Excited to see how he adapts to the pro game during the rest of the summer leaguepic.twitter.com/MBld4z9t46

— Bryson (@BrysonWright3) July 4, 2023

If Coach Jenkins is able to acknowledge the raw skill and talent possessed by GG, he may have to pivot. If he’s ahead of the curve, pivoting may behoove the rookie when it’s all said and done.

Or it may not. But it’s a definite that the ball is in TJ’s court now.

If he elects to let talent trump tenure, there’s a very possible chance that GG skips the G-League. Who knows? That sounds like a coach’s decision. If he’s an actual rotation piece off the bench for this team, those reps will do nothing but help him.

As is, the talent the Hustle face will be a significant drop-off from the NBA talent the Grizzlies will handle. The more NBA reps GG can get against actual NBA opponents, the faster he will reach his ceiling. And the sooner Memphis is able to do that…the better.

If you expedite his development and start him instead turn to #3…

In what I’d consider a turn of events, choosing to start GG Jackson shows massive confidence. Confidence not only in the player, but also in the coaches and training staff as well. The idea of course being that he’s way ahead of schedule.

If this is the case why shouldn’t GG start at the three? At the very least you see what the kid can do.

And what is it he can do exactly? Well, a bit of everything.

His offensive upside eclipses that of every other project on the roster. You’d think this alone would move the needle more his direction. After Summer League and the way he performed more so… well the SLC games at least.

In three games in Salt Lake, GG tallied 13.7 PTS and 5.7 rebounds. He hit these numbers on 46.9/46.7/80.0 shooting splits. Those are not the percentages of an 18 year old rook. They’re more in line with those of a full grown hooper that starts for a team.

GG Jackson Is Starting To Get Comfortable ‼️🤷‍♂️😲

23 PTS & 10 REBS tonight from the kid.

Catch him in a city near you for some fine buckets. 😮‍💨😮‍💨 @_ggjackson pic.twitter.com/5HQ81puBCl

— Xavier Dotson (@ZaytimeTakes) July 7, 2023

Making the choice to start him this early would of course shift other parts of the rotation around. Marcus Smart would move to the bench most likely, and is that something that he’d be willing to do? This path invites a significant amount of uncertainty to the story in several ways.

A starting five of Ja Morant, Desmond Bane, GG Jackson, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Steven Adams, though? That’s a tough, tooth-and-nail style lineup right there, one that I imagine many teams would have no answer for.

Though a risky adventure, the reward may prove to be bountiful.

If you panic, making a rash and frantic roster decision turn to #18…

‘Dimly you remember: Pigs aren’t intended for their fleece, like sheep; nor for their milk, like cows; nor for their eggs, like hens. They have only one purpose—one destiny. You roll sorrowfully in the mud, knowing you are nothing more than pounds and pounds of ham and sausage and bacon. Your human memory stirs. You do have a chance. But you better go on a diet.’

THANK YOU for the night terrors, weird author guy who appears to be dealing with some stuff. I needed to recall this lovely little passage today. Appreciate you.

Look suppose you get to deciding on the roster and it’s come down between GG and ‘Player B’. In a moment of weakness, you may have an Instagram story flash across your mind… or a puff of possible vape smoke could cloud your judgement… and you may choose ‘Player B’ over young Mr. Jackson.

Look, I’m not one who often chides others for their decisions. There’s no yum-yucking in my household. Never has been, never will be…BUT….If you do not keep GG Jackson on this roster in some capacity:

You. Are. A. Big. Dumb. IDIOT. Now sit and read that pig thing again over and over and think about what you’ve done.

What path do you want for GG Jackson?

I remain dumbstruck thinking about how far GG Jackson slipped in this year’s draft. There will be several teams who regret the decision; I promise you that. This year’s 45th pick is different than some of their recent savvy draft moves. GG has the chance to be yet another transcendent player for Memphis.

Will they sign him to their last two-way contract sooner rather than later? It may be the safest option.

What if he shows up more polished than expected? Well let’s see how he hangs as a 7th or 8th man in the rotation. Hell, start him at the 3 if he shows up ready.

That’s the beauty behind GG Jackson—he brings a true Swiss-army style of offense. The Grizzlies better get to getting. They should sign the kid, and the rest will take care of itself… he’s that damn good.