One NBA team that is happy the 2024-2025 season is over is the Memphis Grizzlies. The Western Conference contenders were swept in the first round by the OKC Thunder, who went on to win the 2025 Finals. It seems that no matter how hard Ja Morant and company try, they just can’t get over the hump. Fortunately, Dwyane Wade has a suggestion, and it has to do with Jaren Jackson Jr’s role with the team.
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Jackson Jr. had a very good showing this past year. He averaged 22 points per game and contributed elsewhere on the court, especially on the defensive side. The 25-year-old was a key contributor to the Grizz’s success. But D-Wade thinks the squad needs another scorer to allow JJJ to shine a bit more.
The three-time NBA Champ spoke about this topic on the latest edition of his podcast on the WY Network. Wade explained how if Jackson became the third scoring option for Memphis, the team would be much more dynamic.
“If his production that he brings from an offensive end, defensively, he’s incredible, from an offensive end, if he’s the third production guy on your team? Then you are really good,” said Wade. “If he’s the second, you’re good but you’re not really REALLY good.” This was, of course, just The Flash’s opinion, but he backed it up with some sound reasoning.
“When I watch them play, I look at them and say, ‘Okay JJ is really good because he does so many things on the basketball floor as we were talking about like a young Chet, somebody who does many things.” The Hall of Famer did recently sing the praises of the Thunder’s Chet Holgrem for getting things done the non-traditional way for his team’s first title.
Wade wasn’t done there either. “Can he (JJ) score? Yes. But if he was the third guy on that scoring pecking order, I think Memphis is really REALLY dynamic.”
The question is, who could that player be? One key candidate could be Scottie Pippen Jr. The son of the iconic Chicago Bulls star really showed out in the playoffs, especially when the team’s superstar Ja Morant was out of action during the elimination game against the Thunder.
Pippen Jr. refused to go down in that contest, dropping 30 points in the Grizz’s 117-115 loss. Honestly, he might have had more, but he fouled out in the game’s final minutes.
Still, this could be the type of dynamics that Wade is referring to. By running the offense through Pippen Jr, Jackson Jr. can put his focus elsewhere and not have to help Morant carry the load. The only problem with this theory is that Pippen Jr. is technically a PG, just like Morant, but that could always be switched around.
If not Pippen than perhaps one of the team’s newest draft picks could step into the role that the Miami Heat legend is referring to. Either way, at some point, Memphis needs to realize that their window for competing won’t be open forever. If they hope to be competitive against the dominant West, specifically the defending champ Thunder, they’ll need to try and change up what they’ve been doing.
