Predicting Reggie Jackson’s Future

While most of us were enjoying the All-Star Weekend, front office staff across the Association will have been slaving away on the phones working on deals. After all, the NBA’s trade deadline is on Thursday and it’s the last chance teams will have to trade for that missing piece to solidify their quest for a playoff berth or even their championship credentials.

One of the teams that have been rumored to be aggressively exploring the market is the Oklahoma City Thunder, and the name constantly being mentioned is Reggie Jackson. The point guard has made it clear he wants to be a starter in the NBA. However, that won’t happen in Oklahoma City since Russell Westbrook is already running the show, hence the persistent rumors.

In addition to this, he filled in admirably while Westbrook was injured, averaging 19.5 points, 7.5 assists and 5.3 rebounds during the month of November. And considering he will be a free agent this summer, Jackson essentially played his way out of the Thunder’s price range.

Granted it’s not 100 percent guaranteed that Jackson will have a new home this summer, but having shown his potential earlier this season, several teams will have been readying their check books, anticipating his availability. As for OKC, general manager Sam Presti will be determined to at least get something in return, and there are plenty of suitors interested in his player.

Despite already having the scrappy Patrick Beverley, the Houston Rockets are reportedly in the hunt for another point man with Goran Dragic supposedly being their preferred target. Nevertheless, Daryl Morey will have, no doubt, considered other options, including Jackson.

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Besides, Houston have already poached a player OKC weren’t entirely certain of in James Harden and we know how that turned out. Who is to say history can’t repeat itself?

Unfortunately, the Rockets aren’t exactly loaded with high-quality trade chips so don’t expect this deal to happen. Ditto for the for Los Angeles Lakers.

The NBA’s most glamorous franchise is in need of young talent for the post-Kobe Bryant era and reports suggest they too are eyeing Dragic as Option A and Jackson as Plan B. Their plans to do so will probably have to wait until the summer, though.

The Lakers aren’t exactly blessed with trade assets that would be of great use to the Thunder, so don’t expect to see Reggie Jackson in a purple and gold uniform. Though that’s not to say we haven’t had a punt at possible trade scenarios.

As well as the Lakers and Rockets, the Miami Heat are also looking at the Boston College product. Last year’s NBA finalists are desperate for some help at both guard positions and Jackson is reportedly an option.

Dwyane Wade has been struggling to stay healthy; meanwhile Shabazz Napier and Norris Cole have failed to impress at the helm; and Mario Chalmers has been trying his hand as Wade’s replacement at the 2 which shattered Erik Spoelstra’s plans to use him a sixth man.

As we have already seen during times he has shared the court with Westbrook, Reggie Jackson has the capabilities to be a good combo-guard – not that it would be his ideal role/position.

Sadly for Miami, they don’t have the cap space to lure Jackson in this summer having signed Chris Bosh to a very lucrative $128 million deal last summer, as well as committing $31 million to Wade, nearly $20 million to Luol Deng and more than $22 million to Josh McRoberts for the next few years.

The only thing Miami have to play with in the summer is a mid-level exception, which will certainly be less than what Jackson commands in the open market. So with that in mind, the Heat’s only hope is via a trade.

OKC is in major need of scoring help from their big men and a reliable 3-and-D player. Miami has the latter in Deng. He could be a great backup to Kevin Durant or upgrade to Andre Roberson, but the fact that he is owed $9.7 million this year, and potentially $10 million next year if he exercises his player option–which he probably will do–is a major stumbling block.

That leads us to the Denver Nuggets, who were supposedly close to acquiring Jackson not too long ago, but for one reason or another, the deal fell through. Nonetheless, it makes perfect sense for OKC to be pursuing a deal with Denver. In Chandler and Arron Afflalo, they have two wing players that are good defenders with a reliable 3-point stroke.

That is something OKC has been missing, as illustrated by their 32.5 percent accuracy from deep, which is good enough to give them the sixth-worst percentage in the NBA.

Having said that, pursuing this trade does present its set of problems. First, both Chandler (team option) and Afflalo (player option) are potentially owed more than $7 million, which would stretch the Thunder’s salary cap room even further. Then again it won’t be as big a problem with Kendrick Perkins’ contract off the books next year. Still, it makes no sense for the Nuggets.

Unless the Denver is planning on trading Ty Lawson or playing the pair in two-point guard sets then it doesn’t make any sense for the team to acquire Reggie Jackson. Plus, he has already made it clear he has no interest in playing second fiddle. Besides he will probably be too pricey to be a bench player.

Regardless of that, it would be in OKC’s best interests to aggressively pursue a deal with the Nuggets. The 3-point shooting definitely needs improving. Although, there are alternatives. The New York Knicks are also in the hunt for a point guard and it has long been believed Reggie Jackson was in their radar.

Earlier this season, we thought they had finally acquired the talented 24-year-old during the trade that saw Dion Waiters come to Oklahoma City and J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert going to Cleveland, but as it turns out Jackson was omitted from the trade.

New York could still get their man, but they don’t have any trade assets – except for Tim Hardaway Jr.

The 22-year-old shooting guard is the only player not named Carmelo Anthony the Knicks have that’s worth any value in the trade market. He has shown glimpses of being a pretty good offensive weapon, as he is averaging 10.5 points per game and shooting 35 percent from beyond the arc so far during his career.

He also has great potential so depending on how much New York are desperate to land Jackson and/or the value placed upon Hardaway by either team (after all, he is young, talented and cheap), Jackson could wind up in a Knicks uniform. Although, the Sacramento Kings could have something to say about that.

Overall, it’s difficult to say where Jackson will end up by the end of this week. He clearly has plenty of teams interested in his services and OKC have plenty of needs which could be addressed by trading him. Still, Presti will not deal him away just for the sake of it. He will hold out for a good deal and would even be willing to keep hold of him and let him hit free agency.

Either way, no matter the outcome, one thing is for sure: Reggie Jackson’s days in Oklahoma City are numbered.

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