Detroit Pistons: Moving ahead with rebuild after Reggie Jackson buyout

One final goodbye

Full disclosure, I have never been the biggest fan of Reggie Jackson’s game. Remembering back to the trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder and the main feeling for me was trepidation. Initially he became a hallmark of the Stan Van Gundy era, paying too much for a guy who was not a star.

Jackson often got a bad reputation with the fans for not taking things seriously enough and always being hurt. It is easy to forget he played every game last season for a playoff team.

Since the Blake Griffin trade Jackson has grown on the fans who paid attention if they were not already on his side. He is a great teammate who loved playing for his team. Developing as a better play-maker and off-ball threat once Griffin came to the team was not an easy adjustment.

Reggie Jackson played a couple of games without Andre Drummond, but it honestly makes sense that they department the franchise together. Both players came to Detroit to grow and find their place in the league and did so.

They did not do nearly as much winning as they had hoped and while they each earned their share of the blame, an appropriate team was never put around them. Much-maligned by Detroit Pistons fans, both players loved being here and leave a void as leaders of the locker room.

While Drummond will not be contributing to a winner this season, Reggie Jackson will get that chance. He has not been on a serious playoff team since his early Oklahoma City days. He looks to be a dynamic contributor off of an already explosive Clippers bench.