Is Reggie Jackson on Pace to Become the Next James Harden?
Reggie Jackson and James Harden are not the same player, but their NBA stories may stick to the same script.
The former is still making his name on basketball's biggest stage, packed with potential but lacking the name recognition, All-Star status and three-point consistency of the latter.
However, there are enough similarities between the two—both have been valuable sixth men for the small-market Oklahoma City Thunder with eyes on an expanded role, both can positively impact a game by scoring or setting the table—that it's hard not to wonder whether Jackson will follow the same path as his bearded predecessor.
If Jackson can retrace Harden's steps, that would be simultaneously great news and disastrous for the Thunder. It would mean Jackson is headed for stardom—outside of Oklahoma City.
For now, that is putting the cart well ahead of the horse. According to ShamSports.com, Jackson has another year left on his contract, and the Thunder have until November to ink him to an extension. It's impossible to say whether anything will get done, but Oklahoma City has publicly proclaimed its intention to keep him around.
"We want to invest in Reggie," Thunder general manager Sam Presti said at his preseason press conference. "There's not a lack of clarity in that regard."
Jackson has also publicly expressed a desire to keep this relationship alive.
"I think we're just trying to figure things out and hopefully we can get a deal done," he told The Oklahoman's Darnell Mayberry.
Of course, considering these parties are engaged in active negotiations with one another, these comments are best served with a generous portion of salt.
Jackson won't help his wallet by alienating himself from the franchise. And the Thunder's best shot at securing his services at a discount starts with making him feel valued in non-financial ways.
If their words sound familiar to Thunder fans, they should. This whole situation bears a striking resemblance to OKC's ill-fated negotiations with Harden just two years ago.
Harden was a more complete player then than Jackson is now, but the statistical gap between the two might not be as wide as some would think.
| Harden | 16.8 | 49.1 | 39.0 | 3.7 | 4.1 | 1.0 | 28.5 |
| Jackson | 13.1 | 44.0 | 33.9 | 4.1 | 3.9 | 1.1 | 31.4 |
Harden had a clear advantage in terms of efficiency, but he also had more big-league experience to draw from. He logged 3,927 minutes over his first two seasons in the league, while Jackson saw only 1,494 minutes of action during his.
Harden also had the same type of public support from the Thunder front office that Jackson is getting now.
"James is somebody we value," Presti told reporters in September 2012. "We think he's an important part to what we're trying to do with our team."
Like Jackson, Harden also vocalized an eagerness to stay in the Boomer State.
"You win't find any other team like this. I love it here," Harden told reporters at his exit interview after the 2011-12 season. "This is something special here. A dynasty is being built here."
But the Thunder couldn't keep building with Harden. They didn't have the minutes or the money—mostly the money—to keep him happy.
Harden reportedly declined a four-year offer worth as much as $54 million, per Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports, and was shipped out to the Houston Rockets in October of that year. In his mind, Harden had too much talent for his reserve role but would have been willing to play it had he been compensated at a level he saw as more fitting for his skills.
"I felt like I already made a sacrifice coming off the bench and doing whatever it takes to help the team, and they weren't willing to help me," he told ESPN's Hannah Storm (h/t Daily Thunder's Royce Young).
Jackson's current situation isn't exactly the same. He has no interest in reprising his sixth-man role and has no problem sharing that sentiment.
"I'd like to be a starter," he told reporters at his exit interview in June. "I'm not going to lie."
Fast-forward four months later, and nothing his changed. If anything, his desire to snag a spot in coach Scott Brooks' starting lineup has increased.
At Oklahoma City's media day on Monday, Jackson reiterated that intention and explained the reasoning behind his feelings, per Basketball Insiders' Susan Bible:
"I want to be a starter. I’ve always wanted to be a starter. I’ve always wanted to be great. All the greats I’ve seen started, so that’s kind of the mold. ...
I want a chance to be great. If it doesn’t work, oh well, at least I tried. That’s just how I feel. The best ones I remember have always been starters. I can’t recall a super sixth man. I never thought it growing up, I never felt like that.
"
No one should fault him for feeling that way, and no one could compile a list of the Thunder's best five players without including his name.
Oklahoma City outscored its opponents by 8.0 points per 100 possessions with Jackson on the floor last season. When he sat, that number fell to 5.8 points per 100 possessions. That 2.2-point net differential was higher than four of Brooks' five starters, league MVP Kevin Durant being the lone exception (4.6).
With perimeter stopper Thabo Sefolosha now out of Jackson's way, the athletic scoring guard may feel as if his path to a starting gig is no longer impeded.
However, both history and basketball logic would not agree.
Over the past five-plus seasons, Brooks kept Sefolosha in his opening lineup ahead of far more potent offensive weapons like Harden, Jackson and Kevin Martin. Even when Sefolosha missed substantial time to injury in 2011-12, Brooks passed over Harden for three-point specialist and serviceable defender Daequan Cook.
Given the scoring proficiency of a lineup headlined by Durant, Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka, Brooks hasn't needed a ball-dominant scorer to start alongside them. Rather, the coach has tasked guys like Harden, Jackson and Martin with carrying the second team's scoring torch before joining up with OKC's big guns later in games.
There absolutely is value in such a role, plus a shot at major minutes. That is the message the Thunder are undoubtedly trying to send Jackson right now: Starting is more of a status than anything, and the reserve spot set aside for him still offers a massive amount of substance.
And if the Thunder, who already have an All-Star at Jackson's natural point guard spot in Westbrook, would be better served by plugging in a different option as the starting 2 guard—the defensive-minded Andre Roberson, the long, athletic Jeremy Lamb or the sharpshooting Anthony Morrow—then that's the route they plan to take.
As Presti said, per Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman, the Thunder need to construct their lineup in whatever way most benefits the team:
"The conversation on starting or not starting, the real objective for any team and our team is how do you optimize, over 48 minutes, a cohesive group? That’s a process. We’ll continue to have players that want to have more of a role, deserve to have more, but understanding what we’re working towards is bigger than one person.
"
Again, it's hard to fault Presti's stance.
However, the potential problem is it doesn't matter if starting is nothing more than a status. Not when Jackson wants that status, along with the additional minutes, shots, exposure and—eventually—the money he thinks it will bring.
That's why the parallels exist between Jackson's situation now and Harden's two years ago. This isn't about starting; it's about Jackson's pursuit of greatness and the disconnect he sees between it and his current role. Young explained:
"Jackson doesn't want to start. He wants to star. He wants to run his own team, be the best player on the floor and have the focus on him. Harden wanted the same thing. The question is if Jackson has a pecking order or priorities and can let that burning desire take a backseat to being on a potentially great team. What's better: Being the best player for the 26-56 Bucks, or playing a critical role on a team headed to the NBA Finals?
"
Only Jackson can answer that question, leaving the Thunder in a sticky situation until he does.
There simply isn't any motivation on Oklahoma City's end to "promote" him to the opening lineup. Brooks doesn't have better players available, but he has guys who better complement the other starters. Maybe that means employing another stopper in Roberson, or a floor-spacer in Morrow or a scorer like Lamb who doesn't need the ball to be effective.
Whatever the end result is here—four different writers from The Oklahoman chimed in on OKC's vacant starting shooting guard spot, and all four gave Roberson at least a 50 percent chance to win the job—it isn't granting Jackson's wish.
He'll have to decide whether that makes him the next Harden—the next to skip town when Oklahoma City's lights are no longer bright enough.
Unless otherwise noted, statistics used courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com.
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