The Utah Jazz had the most hype they've had in quite some time this offseason with a lot of it being because of Jaren Jackson Jr.. He had season-ending surgery days after Utah acquired him, but many were looking forward to seeing him paired with Lauri Markkanen, and it made the eighth months between then and Opening Night even more painful.
But now, the fans have to wait even longer. After tearing his MCL, Jackson will be out for the next six weeks minimum, which certainly throws a wrench into the Jazz's plans this season. As hard of a pill as that is to swallow, this harps on a tough reality about JJJ: he's fragile.
Memphis knew this for years. In fact, that may have factored into how, in the end, they may have traded primarily just to get picks more than young talent. Because he tends to get hurt, his value simply wasn't that high despite his talent.
Even worse is that his knees have been problematic. He got season-ending surgery on his knee and his recent MCL tear are just the latest on top of his meniscus tear from six years ago.
Jackson has also missed time because of a stress fracture in his foot, tendonitis in his quad, and hamstring strains. Utah knew the risk when they made the deal (they made the trade knowing JJJ needed season-ending surgery), but it's what makes it harder when that risk shows itself.
At least this happened early instead of later on
At least this happened to the Jazz early and not say in March or April. If it had happened then, they would be in a lot more trouble. That's not to say that this could be trouble to start the season. Part of why they let Walker Kessler go was because they believed JJJ could replace his impact on defense.
Now that they have neither, now they will have to depend on Mo Bamba (who looked great last night) and Jaxson Hayes (who was easily demoted for Ace Bailey not too long into the season). It makes the return of Jusuf Nurkic a lot more urgent nonetheless.
This will be a good test of adversity for Utah. They assembled the talent to make the playoffs, but with Jackson out for the time being, this is a good test to see if they have the culture to survive when these unfortunate circumstances occur.
And if they do, it shows that they were well aware of the challenge that would come when JJJ goes down.
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