Jaren Jackson Jr. had plenty to say about Steven Adams on Thursday night.

"How he sets his angles, how he sets screens, that comes from knowledge," Jackson said after the Grizzlies' 108-101 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers at FedExForum. "You can't just know how to do that. His passing is crazy. In practice we got to see a lot more crazy Steve-O passes, sometimes you saw it in the game."

Adams was reportedly traded to the Houston Rockets earlier on Thursday, with Victor Oladipo and three second round picks coming back to Memphis. The trade has not yet been made official.

Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins did not talk about the trade or Adams' impact on the Grizzlies in his postgame comments, but it was clear from Jackson's comments and the feeling around the fanbase that Adams will be missed.

It's been a while since Grizzlies fans saw him on the floor. Adams was injured in January 2023 and missed the rest of the season. He had been ramping up toward a return before the 2023-2024 season was but was ruled out for the year with the knee injury just days before the season opener.

More: Unpacking the Steven Adams trade and what it means for Memphis Grizzlies going forward

Jackson, who played with Adams for the last two seasons, talked Thursday about how Adams' physicality helped his own game. Jackson often played as the power forward alongside Adams at center.

"He's just a physical specimen they have to deal with," Jackson said. "Everybody's focused on him. Last year everyone was focused on him a lot, so it allowed me to catch people off guard. He helped me in so many ways. Off the court, everybody loved him."

Jackson paused for a minute.

"Like, I don't know," he said. "It's tough, man. It's tough."

Reach sports writer Jonah Dylan at jonah.dylan@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @thejonahdylan.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Jaren Jackson Jr. on Steven Adams, Memphis Grizzlies trade: 'It's tough'