Jackson Jr. to return to Grizzlies in April
7-foot big man works to recover after knee injury
Jaren Jackson Jr. finally has a timeframe for his return, although it's not a firm date.
Memphis Grizzlies general manager and executive vice president of basketball operations Zach Kleiman said Friday that the 7-foot Jackson will see game action by the end of April. Kleiman added that the No. 4 overall selection in the 2018 NBA Draft made strides this month in his recovery after surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee that has prevented him from playing this season.
“There have been indicators that we've looked at to make sure that he's cleared hurdles that he needs to clear to make the next step in his rehab,” Kleiman
said. “He's made significant jumps there over the course of this last month.”
Kleiman's first public comments since the NBA Draft were the first indication from the Grizzlies on when Jackson will return.
Previously, Kleiman said Jackson was ahead of schedule in his recovery following surgery in August but not ready for the start of the season.
However, the timeline shifted as the season continued. Jackson told The Undefeated in January that he'd return this season but he didn't start ramping up basketball activity until February.
He returned to individual practice, but after the All-star break earlier this month, coach Taylor Jenkins said Jackson hadn't done anything live-contact wise.
Kleiman said the lack of a firm return window was due to the nature of the injury.
With a torn meniscus, Jackson could’ve had a meniscectomy where the meniscus is shaved and he could’ve returned in a few months.
The problem, however, is losing the protective function of a meniscus which could lead to swelling and recurring knee issues. So Jackson, his team and the Grizzlies elected to repair it, which led to a longer recovery time.
“They were thankfully able to repair 100% of his meniscus but a full repair of a meniscus can often times take up to eight months, to nine months,” Kleiman said. “There’s a wide gap within where the return date can land for a full repair of a meniscus.”
Kleiman said the recovery wasn’t abnormal compared to similar procedures and the team’s COVID-19 related hiatus in January made it even more difficult to pin down when he’d return.
Barring any setbacks, Jackson will return during the team’s toughest month of the season. Eleven of the Grizzlies’ 17 games in April are on the road, including a seven-game trip from April 16-28 against teams that would make the playoffs or the play-in tournament as of Friday. Kleiman added the Grizzlies always had a long-term view for Jackson’s future which is why they didn’t rush his return. The third-year forward is also eligible for a rookie scale extension this summer.
Now they’ll hope patience will pay off even if Jackson appears in a limited number of games the rest of the way.
“The lens through which everyone has viewed this entire time is let’s make sure that Jaren Jackson Jr., a cornerstone, is going to be positioned to be the best player from the Memphis Grizzlies that he can possibly be,” Kleiman said.
Gorgui Dieng update
Gorgui Dieng’s future with the Grizzlies remains in doubt after he wasn’t moved at the trade deadline on Thursday. Dieng hasn’t played since Feb. 28. The team has to option to buy out the remainder of his $17.3 million salary but Kleiman didn’t give specifics on what the team is thinking.
“More to come on Gorgui, there will be more updates there,” Kleiman said.