The Toronto Raptors appear to be finally realizing they committed to the wrong center and are trying to find an upgrade on the trade market. Recent rumors have connected them to their dream target, Jaren Jackson Jr., who is now eligible to be traded.
One of the more puzzling developments on the rumor mill this season has been the interest of the Raptors in Dallas Mavericks big and 10-time All-Star Anthony Davis. While Davis is certainly talented, he is aging, injured, expensive and looking for a new contract. That pile of risk and cost might be worth it if he were a seamless fit next to Scottie Barnes and Brandon Ingram.
Yet with Ingram only halfway committed to spacing the floor and Barnes' jumper as likely to send the ball into Lake Ontario as the hoop, what they truly need alongside them at center is a big who can stretch the floor. The Raptors realize this to some level, having invested in Kelly Olynyk and Sandro Mamukeelashvili in recent years.
The problem with most stretch bigs, however, is that they tend to be average or worse at the defensive end. Toronto doesn't want to unlock the offense just to sacrifice the defense. Ideally, the Raptors would find a center who is an offensive upgrade over Jakob Poeltl and a top-tier defender. As one can imagine, such players are not readily available.
Jaren Jackson Jr. is the dream target
The dream target is Jaren Jackson Jr. The former Defensive Player of the Year is a willing shooter from outside and a staunch defender in the paint, with versatility to execute multiple schemes on both ends of the court. The Memphis Grizzlies have often tried to play him alongside another center, but given Barnes' size and shot-blocking he should be an ideal fit in Toronto's frontcourt.
Being interested in "JJJ" has been something of a pipe dream until now, when the Grizzlies appear to be accepting their place in the Western Conference and pursuing a roster reset. It's a process that began over the summer by moving Desmond Bane, but now they are putting Ja Morant on the trade block and prioritizing the future.
That doesn't mean they will trade Jaren Jackson Jr., who is just 26 years old and can be a part of the rebuild in Memphis. It does mean hope is cracking open for teams like Toronto who would love to make a sizable offer for the star big man. Jake Fischer of The Stein Line just linked the two in a recent dive into the Ja Morant situation in Memphis.
Jaren Jackson Jr. is now trade eligible
If the Raptors have hope to make a run at Jackson, Tuesday marks a key date in that journey. Jackson signed a new contract with the Grizzlies this past summer, and January 13th marks the 6-month anniversary of that deal. That means Jackson is now officially trade eligible, and Memphis is now legally able to say yes to the right trade offer.
Can the Raptors afford Jackson? That's another question entirely, given that they will need to compensate Memphis both for Jackson and for taking on the long-term contracts they have to use as matching salary, be that Jakob Poeltl or Immanuel Quickley.
It's a dream, certainly, but it's one that isn't entirely impossible. And as of Tuesday it could actually happen. How the Raptors navigate the trade market over the next four weeks and what swing they make is both a mystery and the hinge point for what the next half-decade of Toronto basketball will look like.
Will that future include Jaren Jackson Jr.?