Josh Jackson’s time in Phoenix has ended after only two seasons. The Suns have agreed to a trade that will send the former number four overall pick to the Memphis Grizzlies according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The Grizzlies will receive Jackson, DeAnthony Melton, and two 2nd round picks from the Suns for Kyle Korver and Jevon Carter.
The Grizzlies are trading Kyle Korver and Jevon Carter to the Suns for DeAnthony Melton, Josh Jackson 2020 second-round pick and 2021 conditional second-round pick, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 3, 2019
Adrian Wojnarowski added that the Suns will buyout Korver in order to free up cap space to complete the signing of Ricky Rubio.
The 6-foot-8 Jackson is an athletic swingman but struggles when it comes to his 3-point shot. Josh Jackson averaged 11.5 points and 4.4 rebounds while shooting only 32.4% from three in his second season. Considering this and his troubles off the court, this could be some of the reasons why the Suns decided to move on from Jackson. In Memphis, the 22-year-old will receive plenty of playing time as the Grizzlies completely rebuild around him, Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr.
Thus far Phoenix has had a pretty head-scratching offseason. They traded for Aron Baynes and Dario Saric in separate deals during the NBA draft, while passing up on Jarret Culver to reach on Cameron Johnson. They also traded T.J. Warren to the Indiana Pacers in a move to only clear cap space. The Suns have the longest NBA playoff drought and seem to be a team desperate to break that. These moves to bring in more veterans is a clear signal that Phoenix is pushing the chips in to try to make a playoff run this season.
