Credit: Matthew Smith-Imagn Images

A player both the New York Knicks and Boston Celtics would have loved to have before Thursday’s NBA trade deadline is no longer available after a blockbuster deal between the Memphis Grizzlies and Utah Jazz today.

Over the last month, rumors have circulated that the Grizzlies were open for business when it came to a possible trade for top star Ja Morant. However, despite the guard having superstar talent, his badly diminished value delivered a very weak market for his services.

With a viable Morant trade unlikely, Memphis made a bold pivot and unexpected pivot when they finalized a trade for two-time All-Star Jaren Jackson Jr. According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the Grizz are sending Jackson Jr., John Konchar, Jock Landale and Vince Williams Jr. to the Jazz for Walter Clayton Jr., Kyle Anderson, Taylor Hendricks, Georges Niang and three first-round picks.

The move gives Memphis a huge $28 million trade exception and the chance to rebuild from scratch around Morant. For the Jazz, they get one of the best forwards in the league to form a talented trio with Lauri Markkanen and Keyonte George.

Also, the trade is disappointing news for the NY Knicks and Celtics.

Jackson Jr. trade is bad news for the NY Knicks and the Celtics

Matthew Smith-Imagn Images

The NY Knicks struggled mightily in January. Their defense was becoming a big weakness, and All-Star forward Karl-Anthony Towns seemed like a poor fit in head coach Mike Brown’s system. Furthermore, rumors have circulated that his relationship with the team is in a bad place due to recent trade speculation about him.

If the Grizzlies were willing to take Towns back in a trade, Jackson Jr. would have been a perfect replacement they would have gladly acquired. However, even if Memphis wanted KAT, the Knicks probably didn’t have the first-round picks to get a deal done despite being linked to the forward.

As for the Celtics, they are tied with the NY Knicks for the second-best record in the conference and have been a nice surprise this season. With Jaylen Brown having an MVP-caliber season, and Jayson Tatum expected to miss much of the season, they are one big move away from being a dark-horse contender in the East.

They were reportedly interested in Jackson Jr., and he would have been a perfect fit on a team with one of the best defenses in the NBA. But they either lacked or were unwilling to give up the draft assets necessary to acquire the two-time All-Star.

Now they will have to look elsewhere before the trade deadline to improve their rosters for the second half.

After earning his journalism degree in 2017, Jason Burgos served as a contributor to several sites, including MMA Sucka ... More about Jason Burgos