"Averaged 3 rebounds at World Cup, now wants $318 million?" - Jaren Jackson Jr.'s stunning eligibility for supermax contract has NBA fans buzzing
Reigning Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr. is among the players who could be eligible for a supermax contract extension within the next two years. The star big man of the Memphis Grizzlies could sign a very lucrative deal if he meets the NBA's criteria for a supermax extension.
According to Bobby Marks of ESPN, Jaren Jackson Jr. will become eligible for a five-year supermax extension, worth a total of $318 million, should he win the Defensive Player of the Year award this season. Back-to-back DPOY awards will let him sign a supermax deal in the 2025 offseason.
The news about his eligibility for a supermax deal had NBA fans buzzing, with many of them taking to social media to share their surprise.
"Jaren Jackson Jr averaged 3 rebounds at the World Cup, he now wants $318 million?" a user wrote. "Holy Overpay," another one posted. "Nah, that would be the worst contract in the NBA," a third user tweeted. "Nobody is paying him this," a user wrote.
"Undeserved," another user believes. "318M ???? This has to be a joke..." another user posted. "He’s not worth $318 million until I see 22/10/3," someone else believes. "NBA is a joke with the salaries," a user tweeted. "Turning into one of the most overrated players," another one wrote.
Jaren Jackson Jr. releases rap video a week after disappointing FIBA World Cup debut campaign
Jaren Jackson Jr. released a rap video on Saturday, which is his debut attempt as a rapper under the nickname Trip J. The video release came a week after his debut campaign in a FIBA World Cup came to an end on a disappointing note.
Even though he has been a great two-way player with his elite defense (great rim protector and switch defender) and his offensive repertoire, Jaren Jackson Jr. underperfomed in the World Cup.
The young big man played in a major international tournament for the first time in his career, but failed to lead Team USA to glory. He averaged 8.2 ppg, 2.8 rpg and 1.0 blocks in the competition to go along with 3.0 personal fouls per game.
His poor defense and lack of productivity on both ends hurt Team USA's chances to win the gold medal, with fans roasting him for his performance in the FIBA World Cup. The versatile big man had eight points and three rebounds in the loss to Germany in the semi-finals (111-113), which put an end to the Americans' title hopes.
The reigning Defensive Player of the Year even went on to reply to a journalist who called him a "defensive liability."
"It's tough. That's tough. It happened like 12 hours ago, so I was a liability? Defensive Player of the Year? That's tough," Jaren Jackson Jr. said, via Sports Illustrated.
Now shifting his attention to the coming season, he wants to prove doubters wrong and help the Grizzlies to a deep playoff run, while pursuing his second DPOY award in a row.
Jaren Jackson Jr. made 63 appearances last season and had averages of 18.6 ppg and 6.8 rpg on 35.5% shooting from beyond the arc.