Mike Conley told Jaren Jackson Jr. the story before the wistful pregame scene that played out Tuesday night, when every picture, every autograph, every fist bump, and every part of his routine, felt like the last time.

Before the one longtime teammate he’s got left got a standing ovation from the FedExForum crowd, and before the NBA’s longest-running duo sat next to one another on the bench and Conley realized, “This is it.”

Before he missed what might have been his final shot with the Memphis Grizzlies but they still emerged with an emotional roller coaster of a win over the Minnesota Timberwolves that featured both cheers and tears.

Conley told Jackson the story because before the end, there was a beginning. And sometimes we all need to be reminded of that when the end is near.

Back in 2008, Conley said to the 19-year-old, he was in the same position as Jackson is today. He was the Grizzlies’ first-round draft pick, playing for a team preparing to trade Pau Gasol, tear it all down, and rebuild around him.

“You’re going to be here forever,” Hakim Warrick kept telling Conley back then and, at the time, Conley was skeptical.

"We'll see," he said.

But now, 12 seasons later, with his time left in Memphis suddenly being measured in days and hours instead of years and months, Conley looked at Jackson and said the exact same thing.

“You’re going to be here forever boy, so be ready for it,” Conley said, “Twelve years from now, you can look back and say it to the next guy.”

Memphis Grizzlies trade talks:Futures of Mike Conley, Marc Gasol murky Wednesday morning

More:Toronto Raptors make Grizzlies trade offer for Mike Conley, Marc Gasol, per report

What would Conley, Gasol trades mean for Jaren Jackson Jr.

He shared this story Tuesday because it appears the long farewell is almost over and the torch needs to be passed.

As of Wednesday morning, Conley and Marc Gasol were still part of the Grizzlies. But it doesn’t seem like they will be for long. They are both going to be traded, whether it’s before the NBA trade deadline Thursday at 2 p.m., or if it’s this offseason.

Soon, this will be Jackson’s franchise.

Soon, the team Memphis fell in love with, the team that connected with this city in a way few outside of Memphis understood, the team that embodied the identity of an entire town, will officially all be gone.

So as important as it is to give a proper goodbye to Conley and Gasol, and the last remnants of the Core Four era, it’s also important to remember there's an impressionable 19-year-old rookie watching while the awkward few weeks preceding these massive potential changes unfold.

Because Jackson could become the next Giannis Antetokounmpo and eventually be the centerpiece of a new contender in Memphis. Or he could become Anthony Davis and eventually ask to leave town because the Grizzlies weren’t able to build a contender around him.

That, at least, is the trajectory his statistics this year suggest.

Or, of course, he could be the next Conley or Gasol. "The next guy."

Was Tuesday the end for Gasol, Conley with Grizzlies?

It’s why what happened Tuesday night at FedExForum was so special.

It's why, as Conley left the court after pregame warmups, season ticket holder Charleen Harris asked for one last picture and gave him a hug.

“We hope this isn’t your last night in a Grizzlies jersey,” she said. “We don’t want you to leave.”

“Me too,” Conley said back.

It's why, when Gasol emerged from the locker room with 7:12 left in the first quarter, with rumors of a trade to Charlotte rippling through the stands, the crowd’s acknowledgment gradually turned into a standing ovation. He pounded a fist to his heart in gratitude, a moment so organic and so genuine it gave you goosebumps.

It's why when Conley hit one 3-pointer, stole apass seconds later and then hit another 3-pointer just before the halftime buzzer, he celebrated by waving his arms for more noise and Gasol embraced him near mid-court, likely for the final time, before leaving the arena by the start of the third quarter.

"That was like a game-winning shot to me, to be honest," Conley said. "It felt really, really good because it felt like it was a movie playing out, just seeing him celebrating, seeing him supporting, and just everybody smiling and having a good time and knowing what’s on the horizon, and what’s possible.”

It didn’t matter that of the eight other active Grizzlies players Tuesday, just one (Ivan Rabb) was on the roster a year ago at this time.

It didn’t matter that Conley missed the game-winning shot in the final seconds, that he simply had 25 points, nine assists and a win.

What mattered is the building felt alive again, for the first time in weeks. What mattered is "you just felt the love," Conley said. What mattered is Conley and Gasol were still there, and still wanted to be there.

“It meant everything because a lot of the guys who are on this team now have no idea what we went through for 12 seasons,” he added. “We started at the bottom and got almost all the way to the top. We built something from nothing, and to see that, to where we are today and fast forward to now, they understood it. They felt it tonight, just what we meant and what we’ve done.”

If that's how this ends, if that's the final scene from the Grit 'N Grind era, we still don't know what the next one looks like.

We don’t know yet what the Grizzlies’ plan is, or if there’s a plan at all.

We don’t know yet what they will fetch in return for trading Conley and Gasol.

We don’t know yet exactly how Jackson feels about all this change, about becoming the face of this franchise so soon.

Asked what he learned from this awkward process, from watching what might have been the last days of Conley and Gasol play out so publicly here in Memphis, Jackson revealed very little.

“I know now it’s a business,” he said. “You can’t control anything.”

In other words, there is no such thing as forever in the NBA.

You can reach Commercial Appeal columnist Mark Giannotto via email at mgiannotto@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter: @mgiannotto