A few days ago, Jaren Jackson Jr. was spotted cheering his ex-teammate, Desmond Bane, on with his other ex-teammate, Ja Morant. While it's a good reminder of the high character he brings to the Utah Jazz, some may conclude that the Jazz could reunite JJJ with Morant in Utah. TLDR: they're not.
NBA Insider Jake Fischer reported that while JJJ and Morant still sharing a friendship could indicate a possible reunion in Utah, the Jazz have no interest in that.
"That scene not only brought on a wave of nostalgia for numerous NBA onlookers but also naturally prompted the question: Is a Morant/Jackson reunion in Salt Lake City in any way feasible?
"My sense is no.
"Sources say that the Jazz, who have the emerging Keyonte George at the forefront of their backcourt, are not currently regarded as a possible landing spot for Morant with Memphis widely expected to resume its efforts to trade him in the coming weeks."
Because Utah is already set with George, someone like Morant really isn't all that necessary, even if his trade value is at its lowest. More importantly, Morant and JJJ had brief but fleeting success in Memphis, as they were once the NBA's darling child, but that all fell apart because of Morant's reckless behavior on social media.
He has kept his nose clean since then (in that department), but the Grizzlies fell from grace pretty quickly, hence the JJJ trade. Because those two couldn't make it work in Memphis, it's hard to think how they would in Utah. If a formula doesn't work, there's no need to try it again.
Even if Utah was interested, a trade would be hard to work out
There is a case to be made that Morant would be a good reclamation project, but the only problem being that he would also be an expensive one. Utah already has plenty committed to JJJ and Lauri Markkanen as is, plus they have to re-sign Walker Kessler to a big contract.
The Jazz have some cap room, but not a lot. Plus, if Utah got their hands on Morant, what message would they be sending to George? After the season he just had, Morant gets in the way of that. Plus, the difference between the two is that even if it's been a bumpy ride between George and the Jazz over the last three years, he hasn't gotten himself into completely unnecessary and avoidable trouble.
Plus, after everything fell apart as quickly as it did with Memphis, and they're still dealing with the fallout, it's fair to suggest that Utah trading for Morant would turn out like this classic scene from Arrested Development.
For the record, Morant is an exciting talent who deserves a fresh start to re-assert himself as one of the league's best players. That being said, there's very little reason for him to get that chance with the Jazz.
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