Joe Mullinax: Coach Taylor Jenkins says Jaren and Justise are two key players who due to the December start will not be rushed in terms of a return. Health remains a priority (as it should).
Jaren Jackson Jr Rumors
All NBA PlayersMemphis Grizzlies forwards Jaren Jackson Jr. and Justise Winslow will not be ready for the start of the upcoming season. Grizzlies vice president of basketball operations Zach Kleiman told reporters Wednesday night that Jackson and Winslow will both still be recovering from injuries when the 2020-21 season starts next month, saying it is “unfortunate that the NBA season ended up starting a little bit earlier than we were budgeting for.”
Mark Giannotto: Zach Kleiman says Jaren Jackson Jr. and Justise Winslow aren’t going to be ready to start this season. Says Justise should be ready early in the season but Jaren will still be out “a minute.”
During the team’s trip to the Orlando bubble in July, Jaren Jackson Jr. tore the meniscus in his left knee. He returned from the trip early to begin his rehab. His teammate, Justise Winslow, who was also injured in the bubble, is rehabbing his injury with him. “I had a quicker start to my offseason getting healthy again and getting workouts and all that,” Jackson said. “I’ve been basically seeing Justise every day of my life, literally. We’ve been in there grinding. We made it a goal to never have a bad day and we’ve never had a bad day pretty much ever.”
Jackson wants to let their offseason workouts do the talking. The recovering Grizz players post videos of their rehab workouts every few days. “Just wait, we don’t even like to talk about it,” the 21-year-old said. “We want to let our action speak, but we are waiting to see when we can let our actions speak and get back out there.”
Since he was drafted in 2018, Jackson has been the Grizzlies’ biggest advocate for encouraging voter turnout. On draft night he wore a “Rock the Vote” jacket, and just a week ago he was honored National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) Medallion Award for his dedication to the cause. “This is something I’ve been taught by my parents,” said Jackson, who volunteered at a polling location when he was younger. “This is something that, especially people who look like me, died for, and everybody in America has died for as well. You might as well express yourself and have your voice be heard.”
