NBA Draft: Luka Doncic rises to first in 2018 NBA Redraft

One of the NBA Draft cycle’s fast risers was Jaren Jackson Jr., who had an intriguing freshman season at Michigan St as a very young player, only able to fill a small role but putting up elite numbers on offense and defense when he was on the court. That brought him all the way to the fourth pick, where he went to the Memphis Grizzlies.

Right away in the Las Vegas Summer League, before he had played his first NBA game, Jackson was bombing away from 3-point range and he never stopped. Jackson is a career 37.4 percent 3-point shooter as a 6’11” big. He has hit as many as nine 3-pointers in a game before; only Channing Frye has hit as many for a player as tall as Jackson.

The rest of his game is more potential than production, but Jackson is a good rim protector who could be great. He needs to improve as a rebounder, both generally and if he is going to be a consistent option at center. If he can put things together over the next couple of years he has a chance to be a true two-way impact player, swatting shots and bombing 3-pointers.

In our redraft, the Chicago Bulls get a better version of Lauri Markkanen, a big who can shoot and play defense. They originally took Duke big man Wendell Carter Jr., who through a combination of injuries and a poor system hasn’t developed into a starter at this point in his career. Perhaps having Jackson would change things for the Bulls.