The Utah Jazz have a bright future ahead of themselves, especially with the addition of an All-Star talent to the team at the trade deadline. To ensure the future is indeed bright, it looks like Jaren Jackson Jr. will miss the rest of this season to undergo surgery on his knee, according to NBA insider Chris Haynes.
“BREAKING: Utah Jazz star Jaren Jackson Jr. is likely to miss the remainder of the season to undergo surgery on his left knee to ensure his longterm health after a localized PVNS growth was discovered post trade, league sources tell me,” Haynes wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
It's uncertain if this came up on the physical before the trade, instead of being after it was finalized. Either way, it's good that the Jazz are doing something about it now, because it could lead to long-term damage to the knees.
Jackson only played three games with the Jazz after he was traded, and he looked like he fit nicely alongside Lauri Markkanen and the rest of the team. They'll now have to wait until next season to get a full scope of what they could be when healthy.
The Jazz surprised everyone at the deadline when they traded for Jackson, and it was an indicator that they're ready to get back to being competitive. For years, the Jazz have been near the bottom of the Western Conference standings and have been picking in the lottery.
There's no doubt that they'll be picking in the lottery once again after this season, but they may want this to be their last time doing so.
In fact, though the Jazz haven't publicy came out and said they're losing games on purpose, it's obvious that something has been going on in the past few games as head coach Will Hardy has willingly sat Jackson and Markkanen in the fourth quarter.
