Grizz exercise options for Morant, Jackson, otherson December 17, 2020 at 2:44 am

9:35 PM ET

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Memphis Grizzlies have a talented young core that they are determined to keep together, and they exercised the 2021-22 options for reigning NBA Rookie of the Year Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr., Brandon Clarke and Grayson Allen.

The Grizzlies announced the moves Wednesday night.

The No. 2 pick overall in 2019 out of Murray State, Morant was the near unanimous pick as top rookie and a unanimous choice for the NBA All-Rookie team. He led the team with 17.8 points per game starting 67 games last season.

The fourth overall pick in 2018, Jackson averaged 15.5 points in 113 starts over two seasons. He was on the 2018-19 NBA All-Rookie team, and Jackson scored 17.4 points a game in his second season while blocking 1.61 shots a game. He scored a career-high 43 points on Dec. 13, 2019, against Milwaukee.

Clarke joined Morant on the NBA All-Rookie first team after averaging 12.1 points and 5.9 rebounds. He shot an NBA rookie-best 61.8% from the floor. Allen shot 40.4% from 3-point range last season in his first with the Grizzlies.

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