Sacramento Kings: Complete 2017 offseason grades
Drafting Justin Jackson
The North Carolina Tar Heels claimed their sixth national championship in April, led by three-year player Justin Jackson. A strong tournament run by Carolina — on the heels of a similar run the year before as runner-ups — contributed to the rising stock of Jackson leading into the NBA Draft.
It was expected that Jackson would declare for the draft, and he did, immediately leading to speculation on where he would land. Jackson’s greatest strength, shooting, was both increasingly valued in the league as a whole and desperately needed by teams choosing throughout the first round.
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With the length and foot speed to be a solid wing defender, Jackson projected — and still does — to be a solid 3-and-D wing. The Kings had a gaping hole on the wing, both for next season and for the future. They selected Jackson with the 15th pick in order to fill that hole.
The problem is that Jackson has serious red flags in both the “3” and the “D” portions of that projected role. While he was a knockdown shooter last season at North Carolina, the year before he shot just 29 percent from long range as a sophomore. Was the increase a sign of development, or more attributed to a one-season spike?
Defensively Jackson is rail-thin, checking in at just 193 pounds despite standing at 6’8”. Many NBA wings are much larger and stronger than that, especially combo forwards that are now littering the league. It may be years before Jackson has the requisite size and strength to capably guard 3s, let alone 4s.
Jackson is another high-character player, a veteran leader while in college and a kid who has kept his nose clean off the court. That alone has value for Sacramento. But with two lottery picks they had the opportunity to get two stars, and in taking Jackson they are capping the potential of the 15th pick with a player who at his best will just be a capable starter. There are worse things you can do with a pick — see Papagiannis, Georgios — but there was the potential for more here.
Grade: C