Thursday’s trade of Marc Gasol to Toronto created a series of questions for Memphis and J.B. Bickerstaff as far as how they would approach the rest of the season. Would the Grizzlies lean toward developing their young players, namely Jaren Jackson Jr.? Or would they instead rely on Mike Conley and more established veterans to win games and convey their 2019 pick to Boston?



Turns out, all of those goals are aligned. Gasol’s departure opened up a large share of the offense to the rest of the team. Earlier in the season, Bickerstaff said that approaching Jackson’s minutes with caution, benching him at the end of games and sitting him to avoid letting him get into foul trouble, was the best option for his development.



Bickerstaff changed course on Thursday just hours after Gasol’s departure, making it clear that Jackson has earned the trust of the coaching staff and is ready to assume a bigger role.



As we’ve written numerous times,...