A former Michigan State basketball star is part of a big 2026 NBA trade deadline transaction.
As first reported by ESPN’s Shams Charania, the Memphis Grizzlies are trading big man Jaren Jackson Jr. and three other players to the Utah Jazz for four players and three first-round picks. The full package looks like this:
Jazz get:
Grizzlies get:
For Pistons fans, this may mean the Jazz will now hang on to star forward Lauri Markkanen, who has been a rumored trade target for Detroit this season.
The most notable pieces in the trade are Jackson, 26, and the first-round picks going to Memphis. With the swap, Utah gets to pair Jackson and Markkanen in the frontcourt while Memphis gets to start a rebuild trading their top scorer from this season.
Jackson was a one-and-done player for the Spartans in the 2017-18 season, when he averaged 10.9 points and 5.8 rebounds per game as the team’s starting center. On a team with future NBA players Miles Bridges, Cassius Winston and Xavier Tillman, Jackson and the Spartans finished 30-5 on the season and won the Big Ten regular-season title, but lost to Syracuse in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
Jackson signed a five-year, $205 million contract extension with Memphis in July.
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You can reach Christian at cromo@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Utah Jazz trading for former MSU standout Jaren Jackson Jr.
Reporting by Christian Romo, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
