Philadelphia 76ers Waive Pierre Jackson, But He’ll Be Back

Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported Tuesday afternoon via Twitter that the Philadelphia 76ers have waived guard Pierre Jackson.

This move comes only months after the feel-good story that was general manager Sam Hinkie and his staff signing Jackson to a partially guaranteed contract, despite suffering from a ruptured right Achilles tendon injury that occurred in the first quarter of the Sixers’ opening Orlando Summer League game. But there was some optimism from Jackson surrounding his future in Philadelphia that came by way of his response to a fan on Twitter.

Of course, the future for Jackson as it pertains to the Sixers’ is now in the hands of Hinkie, which may or may not be great news for those who were hopeful for some of Jackson’s explosive offensive outings to take place in the Wells Fargo Center. If there’s one thing for sure, it’s how unpredictable Hinkie is with the moves he makes concerning his roster. On the other hand, Hinkie also loves young talent with upside, even if it means having to wait for a season as people heal from injuries.

Sound familiar?

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Furthermore, it appears like there’s a meant-to-be kind of feel between Jackson and the Sixers. After originally being selected by the Sixers in the 2013 NBA Draft, Jackson was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans in the deal that brought the box-top sensation, Nerlens Noel, to The City of Brotherly Love.

After playing overseas a bit, becoming the star of the D-League’s Idaho Stampede and heading back overseas to play in Turkey, the Pelicans than traded the rights to Jackson right back to the guys who made his NBA dreams come true by simply choosing to draft him.

A devastating, season crushing injury, a partially guaranteed contract and yesterday’s waiver from the Sixers later, Jackson doesn’t seem to have any doubts as to where he will be playing basketball once he recovers from his original 6-12 month rehab, which should be around 4-10 months to date.

Who knows what’s giving Jackson such boldness to proclaim on social media that his days as a Sixer are not done. Maybe he has some inside information from Hinkie as to what the near future holds. Maybe his storied work ethic and undeniable explosive scoring ability will be one that the Sixers simply cannot refuse to reel back in.

We don’t know, but Jackson does.

For now, all Sixers’ fans can do is keep their fingers crossed though another rugged season and pray to the basketball gods that their team keeps a tight grasp on Jackson’s recovery and intentions for next season. With a team looking to build a championship roster through the draft and free agency, it would be a huge success if Philadelphia could retain Jackson and sit back and enjoy his electric play style once he actually gets to wear his Sixers’ jersey when the games matter.