Detroit Pistons: Reggie Jackson and His Future with the Pistons

By Greg Chin | Mar 9, 2015

Mar 8, 2015; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Reggie Jackson (1) goes to the basket on Charlotte Hornets center Al Jefferson (25) in the fourth quarter at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Charlotte won 108-101. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports /

Reggie Jackson’s tenure on the Oklahoma City Thunder soured in the blink of an eye. Touted as the heir to James Harden’s role on the Thunder after he left, Reggie Jackson was seen as a key component to the Thunder’s hopes of playoff success. When Russell Westbrook was out injured, Jackson filled the void perfectly, and his performances earned praise from various sources.

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However, in his contract year, Jackson’s play has been spotty. His desire to lead his own team has led to erratic play from the fourth-year guard, and it was clear that by the end of his time at Oklahoma City, he had burned bridges with his teammates and frustrated them with his selfish play.

As a result, he earned a one-way ticket to Detroit, with Detroit Pistons’ man-in-charge Stan Van Gundy deciding to take a chance on him. After all, he had just lost his starting point guard in Brandon Jennings to a torn Achilles tendon, and was orchestrating one last hail-Mary attempt to make the playoffs.

In his first six games as a Piston, we haven’t seen anything from him to suggest that he is worth the max contract he is reportedly after. The Pistons have won just once in the previous six games, with disappointing losses against the New York Knicks and the Washington Wizards. His standard of play has been average, and there is nothing to suggest that he could follow in the footsteps of James Harden after leaving OKC.

Which begs the question: what is Reggie Jackson’s future with the Pistons?

When the offseason arrives, the Pistons will hold Jackson’s restricted free agent rights which will allow them to match any offer they receive for him. Jackson reportedly turned down a four-year, $48 million contract extension with the Thunder before the contract extension deadline expired, and has been rumoured to be after a max extension.

After the season he’s had, it’s hard to think of any team that would offer Jackson a max extension. His flaws as a high-volume, poor efficiency point guard have been found out. He doesn’t shoot well from long range (28.6 percent for his career) and doesn’t average many free throw attempts (2.7 attempts per 36 minutes for his career). He has a good eye for passing, but his defense is spotty at best, and comes across as a really, really poor man’s Rajon Rondo (or Ricky Rubio).

Of course, we could see a second occurrence of a Piston signing a qualifying offer for a season in order to play their way into a bigger contract as an unrestricted free agent in the following season. It was the same tactic that Greg Monroe employed during the offseason, and it appears as though it could be paying off.

This would be the most likely option for Jackson, especially if the Pistons are unwilling to meet his contractual demands. They are also linked with bringing back Brandon Jennings during the offseason, which would also affect Jackson’s future with the team.

Alternatively, Jackson could go the route of Lance Stephenson. After failing to agree with the Indiana Pacers on a contract extension, Stephenson signed with the Charlotte Hornets for a shorter deal than what the Pacers were offering.

This was also a risk of sorts: Stephenson was relying on the impending increase in the salary cap (thanks to the new TV deal) and was banking on his proving his worth outside of the Pacers’ organization. So far, that risk hasn’t paid off, but he is on a team-friendly deal that the Hornets can parlay into a trade during the offseason.

There are similarities between Jackson and Stephenson, which might be a better analogy than Jackson and Harden. The Pistons would prefer to go this route, as it gives them more time to assess what Jackson is truly worth, and whether he features into the organization’s long term plan.

Whatever the future holds for Jackson, he has just 21 regular season games left to prove that he is deserving of the max contract status he seemingly values himself at.

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