Detroit Pistons: 3 midseason takeaways in 2018-19

2. Reggie Jackson needs to go

For more than one reason, Jackson needs to be playing a new uniform sooner rather than later. Due to injuries, Jackson doesn’t have the same athleticism that he did earlier in his career, and, his lack of a consistent outside shot makes him a poor fit alongside Griffin. Unfortunately for the Pistons, the hefty contract they handed to Jackson a few years ago makes trading him a lot more difficult.

For the year, despite playing all 41 games, Jackson is scoring just 14.7 points per game to go with 4.2 assists and 2.7 rebounds. While Jackson was expected to see some regression as Griffin took on the role of facilitating the offense, these aren’t the numbers they need out of one the highest-paid point guards in the NBA. He’s also been rather inefficient with the little bit of scoring he’s put up, with a .401/.339/.865 shooting splits.

With Jackson under contract for another season, the team needs to free up cap space by getting his number off the books. They have a few ways they can do that, and it needs to be a matter of when he gets traded, not if. Rookie Bruce Brown Jr. hasn’t been absolutely flawless this year, but he has shown some potential to be a key player for Detroit if he gets more minutes.