Best Potential Trade Packages, Scenarios and Landing Spots for Reggie Jackson
Reggie Jackson has done his darndest to ignore the nearly constant swirl of trade speculation that's surrounded him this season.
"I don’t really listen good or bad that much anyway," Jackson said at the Oklahoma City Thunder's practice on Wednesday, in reference to the impact said speculation has had on his campaign, via Daily Thunder's Royce Young. "I kind of try to drown you out and just play basketball."
If it's music Jackson's using to drown out the media, he'd do well to pump some Frank Sinatra into his headphones.
Now, the end is near for the 24-year-old Jackson in OKC. According to Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski, Jackson's camp has asked the Thunder to move the Boston College product prior to the 3 p.m. ET trade deadline on Thursday.
When asked about this report, Jackson responded, well, his way (via Daily Thunder):
"Do you want to be here tomorrow?
"I would love to play basketball."
Do you want to be here in Oklahoma City playing for the Thunder?
"I would love to play basketball."
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A split between Jackson and the Thunder has gone from likely to practically inevitable in recent months. Per USA Today's Sam Amick, Jackson could've signed an extension back in October to stay in OKC on par with what Kemba Walker got from Charlotte (i.e. four years, $48 million) but turned it down. The addition of Dion Waiters, another young combo guard, to the Thunder's bench in early January only appeared to push Jackson further out the door.
If these are, indeed, the final hours for Jackson in OKC, where might he be headed next? And what might a trade to each of the most suitable destinations look like?
Read on to find out!
Brooklyn Nets
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According to Sheridan Hoops' Michael Scotto, the Brooklyn Nets don't have any designs for Reggie Jackson at present, and why would they? Between Jarrett Jack and Deron Williams, the Nets already have two veteran point guards who are more reliable at Jackson's position than Jackson is and are making the kind of scratch that Jackson will be seeking in restricted free agency this summer.
But if OKC is keen to upgrade its frontcourt rotation with Brooklyn's Brook Lopez, adding Jackson to the mix could help the Thunder grease those particular skids. A deal built around Jackson, Kendrick Perkins and Jeremy Lamb joining the Nets makes some sense for Brooklyn—and passes muster through ESPN's Trade Machine.
Reuniting Perk and Kevin Garnett could be a nice morale boost to both. At worst, Perk's contract will come off the books this summer, while Jackson and Lamb offer a dose of upside for Brooklyn going forward.
As for the Thunder, they'd finally get the skilled center (Lopez) that Presti has coveted since the 2008 NBA draft, per Basketball Insiders' Alex Kennedy, while bolstering their prospects of doing more than merely cracking the West's playoff code this spring.
Denver Nuggets
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The Denver Nuggets have also been connected to Lopez in recent weeks, as they have to Jackson, per ESPN's Chris Broussard.
Not that the Nuggets are starved for point guards. They happen to have a pretty good one, in Ty Lawson, on their roster, though punctuality may not be his forte.
But sending Jackson, who played his prep ball at Palmer High School in Colorado Springs, back to the Centennial State would be less about filling a need for the Nuggets than doing so for the Thunder.
According to ESPN's Ramona Shelburne, OKC is one of a handful of teams that's talked with Denver's front office about adding potential free-agent-to-be Arron Afflalo before Thursday's deadline. OKC could use a veteran two-way wing like Afflalo, who doesn't need the ball in his hands to be effective on offense, to improve its postseason prospects out West.
The Thunder have a number of players whose contracts could be combined to match Afflalo's $7.5 million salary. Jackson's happens to be one of them, and if you throw in those of Anthony Morrow and CU Boulder product Andre Roberson (and, perhaps, a draft pick of some sort), the all-knowing Trade Machine can kindly ask Gandalf to stand down.
Jackson has shown in the past (see: the 2014 playoffs) that he can be an effective starter next to another point guard. He'd probably get that opportunity next to Lawson in Denver, with Morrow and Roberson bolstering the Nuggets' depth on the wing.
Boston Celtics
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Speaking of teams that don't have any obvious needs at point guard, ESPN's Chris Broussard also mentioned the Boston Celtics as a possible landing spot for Jackson. This, despite dealing away Rajon Rondo earlier this season and spending the No. 6 pick in the 2014 draft on Oklahoma State floor general Marcus Smart.
Then again, Celtics general manager Danny Ainge has never been one to dabble in the obvious. Rather, Trader Danny, as he's known, is the sort of wheeler-and-dealer who seems to be thinking multiple steps ahead whenever he makes (or even considers) a particular move.
Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey complimented Ainge, by whose side he previously plied his trade in Boston, according to NBA.com's Ian Thomsen:
"Look at the roster in '03 when Danny took over, and his ability to win a title five years later. That transformation is unheard of, I've never seen anything like it. Now you look at the way he's set up the Celtics today, and it's the best I've seen someone go from losing a core to creating lots of future picks and flexibility to turn it around quickly. People don't see it yet because it hasn't turned the corner, but they will see it.
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Trading for Jackson, when there's already a promising rookie at his position, wouldn't bring much immediate clarity to Boston's situation. But Boston might be able to get a deal done by packaging one of its own cheap youngsters (Tyler Zeller, perhaps?) with a first-round pick from the bevy that Ainge has amassed amid the Celtics' ongoing rebuild.
Indiana Pacers
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The Indiana Pacers have been desperate for legitimate playmakers for some time now. The absences of Paul George (due to injury) and Lance Stephenson (via free agency) this season have only thrown that problem into further relief. Pick just about any noteworthy offensive metric on NBA.com—from points per possession and effective field-goal percentage to true shooting percentage and drives per game—and you're bound to find Indy languishing in the bottom 10.
Jackson probably wouldn't change that all on his own, but he'd represent a decent step in the right direction. According to Bleacher Report's Ric Bucher, the Pacers would like to clear cap space to sign Goran Dragic this summer. Jackson is nowhere near Dragic's level, as far as proven NBA commodities are concerned, but he's younger and more athletic. Most importantly, he can come under Indy's control much sooner and for a smaller fee, in terms of current assets and eventual salary, than Dragic can.
OKC could save some scratch in the process, too. Indy can absorb Jackson's $2.2 million into the $4.3 million trade exception that came into the Pacers' possession by way of last year's Danny Granger trade.
So long as there's a first-round pick involved, of which the Pacers have all their own, the Thunder would listen intently to whatever whispers Larry Bird has to offer.
Milwaukee Bucks
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The Milwaukee Bucks might have something to say about Jackson before their Central Division rivals get in too deep.
According to Basketball Insiders' Alex Kennedy, the Bucks see Jackson as a solid fit next to Brandon Knight in a versatile backcourt—not unlike what Milwaukee had hoped for when the team pursued Eric Bledsoe last summer.
Bleacher Report's Ric Bucher laid out some other key points regarding the Bucks' interest in Jackson:
"Jackson, meanwhile, makes sense for the Bucks in their up-and-down style under Coach Jason Kidd and would add a player with postseason experience to a roster that has little and yet has hopes of being a force this spring. With 30 playoff games under his belt, Jackson has seen more postseason action than everyone on the Milwaukee roster except big men ZaZa Pachulia and Kenyon Martin.
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Bucher's proposals of Jerryd Bayless or John Henson going to OKC both pass fiscal muster. Chances are, the Thunder would prefer Henson, given their ever-present need for support at center, though a first-round draft pick will probably be required to get a deal done, regardless of which actual player is tossed in, per The (Racine) Journal Times' Gery Woelfel.
Houston Rockets
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What better way for the Thunder to ensure the safety of Russell Westbrook's knees than by bringing noted point guard pest Patrick Beverley over to their side of Red Rover?
The Houston Rockets wouldn't have much use for Beverley if they were to bring Jackson aboard, which ESPN's Chris Broussard says is a possibility. Throw in another cheap youngster—like, say, Terrence Jones—and the Rockets could easily make the math add up properly in a deal for Jackson.
Jackson isn't nearly the lockdown defender that Beverley is, but he's far more threatening offensively and can be a difference-maker on defense when afforded the opportunity to start.
As it happens, both Jackson and Beverley will be restricted free agents this summer. Jackson clearly isn't going to get what he wants in OKC but, like James Harden before him, could find the requisite room to spread his wings (and rake in cash) in Space City.
Beverley, on the other hand, probably won't cost OKC as pretty a penny as Jackson would and brings the same sort of bulldog mentality to the court that—among Kevin Durant's pivot toward a more menacing in-game persona, Westbrook's longstanding combativeness and Steven Adams' emergence as a 7-foot irritant—has become the Thunder's calling card in recent years.
Josh Martin covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter.
