Jaren Jackson Jr., Grizzlies Agree to 4-Year, $105M Rookie Contract Extension

The Memphis Grizzlies and forward Jaren Jackson Jr. agreed to a four-year, $105 million contract extension Monday.

Agent Austin Brown of CAA told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski about the agreement, which comes hours before the 6 p.m. ET extension deadline for the 2018 draft class. Trae Young, Luka Doncic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Michael Porter Jr., Mikal Bridges and Robert Williams III previously agreed to extensions. 

Jackson was limited to 11 games last season due to a torn meniscus that he suffered in the NBA bubble. He's been 100 percent throughout the preseason, and his continued development is a large part of the Grizzlies' hopes for improvement this season.

A fleet-footed big who can play either the 4 or 5, Jackson could develop into one of the game's premier two-way big men. He's already a career 37.4 percent shooter from distance, and he has averaged 1.5 blocks per game.

Rebounding has been an issue—Jackson pulls down only 4.7 per game—but that's a byproduct of the Grizzlies regularly trusting him to switch onto guards in pick-and-roll situations.

After swapping Jonas Valanciunas for Steven Adams in a larger draft-day deal, general manager Zach Kleiman told reporters that the Grizzlies will be relying more on Jackson this year:

"A big goal of this offseason was positioning ourselves to be in a place where Jaren can absorb more of the offensive load. Where he can step in and we can play the way we want to play. For this team to reach its ceiling, for us to be our best selves, that involves Jaren really coming into his offensively and us putting him a position to be successful."

The Grizzlies view Jackson and Ja Morant as their two most important long-term rotation members, so locking him up was a no-brainer. Getting Jackson on a below-max contract could wind up being a massive heist if he hits his ceiling.