Jazz big man Jaren Jackson Jr. (knee) out at least six weeks, which stings even more after Walker Kessler move

Utah Jazz forward Jaren Jackson Jr. suffered a torn MCL in his right knee on Monday and will be re-evaluated in six weeks, the team announced Tuesday. Jackson's injury, which came in the first quarter of Monday's loss to the Memphis Grizzlies when Ty Jerome fell into his knee, will not require surgery, according to ESPN.

That wasn't the only front-court injury Utah sustained in the loss, as Lauri Markkanen injured his wrist attempting to get around a screen in the first quarter. The team said Tuesday that Markkanen is considered day-to-day. Neither returned to the game as they played just 16 combined minutes in the defeat.

Even if Markkanen avoids serious injury, Jackson's absence puts the Jazz in an enormously difficult situation, considering the direction their offseason took. After a contract standoff with former starting center Walker Kessler, the Jazz elected to sign-and-trade him to the Los Angeles Lakers for two first-round picks and two first-round swaps. It's early, but Kessler has been spectacular for the Lakers, and his absence left the Jazz without a long-term option at center. Short-term starter Jusuf Nurkić is also injured, and now, the Jazz are without Jackson, their rim-protecting power forward.

Utah has spent the bulk of the past four seasons tanking. This season carried at least Play-In expectations after the emergence of Keyonte George last year and with the arrival of No. 2 overall pick Darryn Peterson. Those goals are obviously not out of reach even with Jackson injured, but a 1-3 start coupled with everything they've lost in the front-court certainly leaves Utah behind the eight ball early on. The Jazz already rank No. 25 in the NBA defensively, and while their rebounding has surprised early in the season, it is a clear weakness on paper.

The Jazz have the ammunition to make a sizable trade if they want to. That was one of the benefits of trading Kessler. But teams are rarely eager to give away valuable veterans early in seasons, and roughly 29% of all NBA players are not currently eligible for trades because of contracts they signed during the offseason. 

For now, Utah will probably have to rely on incumbent big men like Jaxson Hayes, Mo Bamba and Kyle Filipowski while they await the return of at least Nurkić and then, eventually, Jackson.

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