Herrington: Everyone has an NBA anti-tanking proposal. Here’s mine.
Grizzlies guard Ja Morant (center) reacts next to guard Ty Jerome (left) and guard Scotty Pippen Jr. (right) during the second half of an NBA Cup basketball game against the Los Angeles Clippers on Nov. 28, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (Jessie Alcheh/AP file)
Chris Herrington
Chris Herrington has covered the Memphis Grizzlies, in one way or another, since the franchise’s second season in Memphis, while also writing about music, movies, food and civic life. As far as he knows, he’s the only member of the Professional Basketball Writers Association who is also a member of a film critics group and has also voted in national music critic polls for Rolling Stone and the Village Voice (RIP). He now splits his time between Minneapolis-St. Paul, where his wife works, and Memphis.
On Friday night, the Memphis Grizzlies and Utah Jazz returned from the All-Star break to play at FedExForum.
It was Jaren Jackson Jr.’s return to Memphis after being traded to Utah earlier this month. Jackson was in the building and got a video tribute but did not play. He was shut down at the break for a season-ending procedure to remove a benign growth in his knee.
Jackson joined a long list of other major players not on the court, including the long-time legit injury cases (centers Walker Kessler and Zach Edey), more recent how-real-is-it injuries (point guards Keyonte George and Ja Morant) and some more palpably elective absences.
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