Ah yes. Just what everyone was waiting for: the Memphis Grizzlies trading one of the best players away to the Utah Jazz for a whole bunch of assets that may not seem like a lot now, but will lay the foundation for a resurgence that the Spurs are going to have to deal with long-term.
BREAKING: The Memphis Grizzlies are trading star forward Jaren Jackson Jr., John Konchar, Jock Landale and Vince Williams Jr. to the Utah Jazz for Walter Clayton Jr., Kyle Anderson, Taylor Hendricks, Georges Niang and three future first-round picks, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/ax6oQpZx0S
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 3, 2026
The only other real hooper on that list who the Grizz traded away was Jock Landale. He's made himself into a solid role player in this league. But this is an organization focused on rebuilding around their young core. Zach Edey, Cedric Coward, Cam Spencer, Ty Jerome, etc. They have some good young players, and now they've added to an already deep treasure chest of assets.
Memphis now has 13 firsts in the next 7 years.
They are tied with Brooklyn and OKC. https://t.co/INoTIVGYZg
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) February 3, 2026
They've taken to the San Antonio/OKC path of rebuilding, and we know how effective that can be when executed well. That's something to keep an eye on.
The Grizzlies have a strong foundation
They'll still need to prove they can put everything together, because Ja Morant is still on the roster, and they haven't exactly been great at hiring coaches or doing right by them. There are many factors involved in a winning organization, but making the right personnel moves is a significant one.
All signs point to their readiness to move on from the Morant era, so that's another step in the right direction. JJJ is a tremendous player, but he's not someone to build around as a primary piece. They were right to trade him to add more flexibility to their cap space, and those draft picks are going to be very valuable for someone.
Over the past few seasons, we've seen teams take unexpected leaps. From the Pacers to the Pistons to our very own Spurs this year. (Well, ours wasn't unexpected to some of us, but that's neither here nor there.) Memphis can be the next one to come out of nowhere if they draft a good player or two and make the right trades.
Once again, San Antonio could be looking at a resurging rivalry going back to the Zach Randolph Grit-n-Grind days. Those were fun times (when the Spurs were dominating them).
That was a different era, though. There's no telling what the new iteration could look like. The Silver and Black have enough to deal with in a talented Western Conference, but it looks like that's only going to get worse. Brian Wright better be ready to keep tweaking this roster because the rest of the West isn't just going to let another Spurs dynasty rise. They'll have to fight for it.