Grizzlies sign GG Jackson to Four-Year Contract

After some stand out performances over the past month, the move was expected.

Once the trade deadline passed, it felt imminent.

But after a historic night from GG Jackson, the Grizzlies made sure it was immediately done.

The series of events were pretty telling on Thursday. After the Grizzlies made the somewhat surprising move to trade second-year rotation player David Roddy to the Phoenix Suns, GG Jackson responded with the best game so far of his NBA career. Shortly after the game, newly acquired big man Chimezie Metu was waived, thus clearing a roster spot. And then, the next logical move occurred as the Grizzlies signed GG Jackson to a multi-year contract as a permanent part of the roster, and to be clear, a likely critical component of this Grizzlies core moving forward.

Signing Jackson to a multi-year was likely a plan already in place before his incredible performance on Thursday night. While the exact terms of the contract have yet been revealed, Jackson’s contract will likely be similar to the multi-year deal Vince Williams signed early this year. The emergence of both WIlliams Jr. and Jackson have provided the Grizzlies with the young, productive wing depth that they have been looking to add for years. As a result, the team wasted no time making sure each player was in Memphis for the long-term.

The youngest current player in the NBA, Jackson has had stretches of struggles and success during his first month in the NBA. However, his immense offensive potential is starting to emerge and allow for him to find consistency as a needed source of offense for the Grizzlies. On the season, Jackson is averaging 9.9 points and 3.5 rebounds while shooting 42.9% from the field and 38.3% from three.

But what stands out for Jackson is that he has continued to impress as his role has increased. As Memphis has featured him more over the past few weeks, Jackson has scored in double figures in six of the past seven games. On Tuesday, his play on both ends of the court sparked an impressive fourth quarter near comeback against the Knicks on the road. Then last night, Jackson produced a historic performance as he scored a career high with 27 points.

On multiple occasions, GG Jackson has produced results that only names such as Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, and Kevin Durant have produced at a similar age in the past. This is not to suggest Jackson will eventually be on the level of those players. However, it is validation that the natural talent Jackson is already allowing for him to make a significant offensive impact. And as he matures, he could become a difference-maker the Grizzlies would surely welcome to play along side Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Desmond Bane.

And the fact that Jackson has quickly earned a long-term contract with Grizzlies speaks to how hard he has worked and how well he has adjusted to evolving his game in the NBA. After a less than ideal year in college, Zach Kleiman spoke about Jackson’s clear determination move past that and make the most of his opportunity in Memphis. And that is exactly what he has done.

As a result, the continued evolution of Jackson will be exciting to watch, especially as he plays more with the Grizzlies best players. The Grizzlies were smart to secure Jackson’s future in Memphis for the long-term. Now, plenty of opportunity awaits Jackson to turn his immense potential into consistent, quality production to help the Grizzlies in the present and future.