Trading for Jaren Jackson Jr. already appears to be a brilliant long-term move for the Utah Jazz.
Jackson has played in two games with Utah so far, before Wednesday’s matchup against the Sacramento Kings in Salt Lake City. The two-time NBA all-star is averaging 22.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 3.0 assists in 25.0 minutes per game.
His 6-foot-10 frame adds another big presence to the Jazz alongside 7-foot-1 Lauri Markkanen. It makes Utah more difficult to defend at the rim and also helps improve the NBA’s worst defensive team by making them less vulnerable on that end of the court.
“I think having two guys that are that size who can both shoot on the perimeter and put pressure on the rim… teams are going to have some hard choices to make in terms of what the matchups are,” Jazz coach Will Hardy told the Deseret News.
This frontcourt pairing is creating new options for the Jazz on how to attack opposing defenses as Jackson and Markkanen become more familiar and comfortable with each other’s games.
“They’ll show us things that maybe we haven’t thought of as much in terms of ways that their skill sets can play off of each other,” Hardy said. “We also are going to learn more as we continue to go about how those two guys are guarded when they’re in the same space.”
The Jazz have looked like a team poised to take a step from rebuilding mode to contending mode next season when Jackson and Markkanen have been on the court together. They are 1-1 since acquiring Jackson, suffering a 120-117 loss to Orlando on Saturday and then beating Miami 115-111 on Monday.
Jackson saw action in the first three quarters in both games. He played a key role in helping Utah build leads entering the fourth quarter, then sat for the final 12 minutes and watched his younger teammates finish out the game.
The Jazz have drawn criticism on social media for sitting stars like Jackson and Markkanen in the fourth quarters while letting bench players finish games.
Like Utah, Sacramento is focused on future development more than present victories.
The Kings have lost 13 straight games since reeling off a four-game winning streak in mid-January. It is the most consecutive losses for the franchise since moving from Kansas City before the 1985-86 season.
Monday’s 120-94 loss to New Orleans had some bright spots. Maxime Raynaud achieved his eighth double-double of the season after recording 21 points and a career-high 19 rebounds. Russell Westbrook scored 17 points to reach 27,001 career points, placing him 14th on the all-time NBA scoring list. Elvin Hayes is ahead in 13th with 27,313 points.
Still, frustration is mounting for the Kings amid their continued futility. DeMar DeRozan slammed a water bottle to the floor during a third-quarter timeout against the Pelicans, visibly showing his anger at his team’s mediocre play.
“A lot of stuff we do is self-inflicted,” DeRozan told the Sacramento Bee. “Us not being in the right spots, make it a chain reaction, them getting back in transition, getting easy shots, easy buckets, so (the water bottle incident) was just me wanting us to play the right way, win, lose or draw.”
