Redrafting the 2018 NBA Draft: Who do Mavericks select after Luka Doncic goes No. 1?
By Austin McGee
4. Memphis Grizzlies select Jaren Jackson Jr.
Original draft position: 4
The first player on the list who is better on defense than offense is Jaren Jackson Jr. Jackson Jr. is also the only player in the redraft who remained in his original draft slot.
Back to his defense, the Memphis big man was deemed the best defender in the NBA this past season. He took home Defensive Player of the Year honors while making the All-NBA Defensive First Team for the second consecutive season.
Jackson Jr. averaged an absurd 3.0 blocks and also a steal per game. Jackson Jr. ranked top-10 in defensive rating, defensive win shares, and defensive box plus/minus.
With all the talk of Jackson Jr.'s defense, he's no slouch on offense. The former Spartan is a prototypical NBA stretch big. He shoots spot-up threes with great volume and has a quick release. Jackson Jr. is a career 35.2 percent three-point shooter. In his second season, he knocked down 2.5 threes per game while shooting it at 39.4 percent.
Although Jackson Jr. regressed slightly after his exceptional second season, partly due to injury, he regained his offensive form a season ago. Rather than solely sticking to threes, Jackson Jr. has recently shown glimpses of dribble drives.
He's not an advanced ball-handler by any means, but Jackson Jr. can get the rim using his length and athleticism. Additionally, the Memphis big man provides his guards with a fantastic lob threat near the rim.
Coming out of Michigan State, Jackson Jr. was deemed a raw prospect. At the time, the 18-year-old Spartan big only averaged 21.4 minutes per game. However, what scouts saw in a limited sample size paid off, as Jackson Jr. now appears to be a premier 3-and-D big man.