Is There a Future for Both Reggie Jackson and Brandon Jennings with the Pistons?
Stan Van Gundy has traded the Detroit Pistons into a point guard logjam.
After swinging a deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder for Reggie Jackson ahead of the Feb. 19 deadline, Detroit's coach and president now has two starting-level floor generals on his hands, the other being Brandon Jennings.
Injuries have rendered this backcourt congestion a non-issue for now. Jennings is done for the season after suffering a torn Achilles in his left leg, giving Jackson free rein over the Pistons offense.
But Jennings has another year left on his contract, and Van Gundy has made it clear the team intends to keep Jackson, who will be a restricted free agent this July. This issue isn't going away, especially with Jennings unavailable and, therefore, unable to show whether he and Jackson can coexist—hence the uncertainty that's emanating out of Detroit.
"Brandon is a great guy and a team-oriented guy and understands the situation," Van Gundy said, per The Detroit News' Rod Beard. "He probably would've rather that we didn't (pick up Jackson). He's on board; he knows what we're trying to build here. Brandon really wants to win, so he was fine with it."
Fine with what exactly? Coming off the bench? Starting alongside Jackson? Eventually being forced out of Detroit?
Next season is an afterthought in the minds of most, but for a Pistons team that's playing host to an unanticipated backcourt pairing, shedding light on the immediate future is now a foremost priority.
Brandon Jennings
Long considered an unabashed gunner, Jennings began to blossom within Van Gundy's offensive system.
Shooting just over 40 percent from the floor typically draws the ire of efficiency nuts, but things changed once the Pistons waived Josh Smith. Jennings averaged 19.8 points and seven assists through the 16 games he played following Smith's departure, recording an effective field-goal percentage—cumulative measurement of two- and three-pointers—north of 50.
While his point and assist totals rivaled his career numbers, Jennings proved to be more efficient than ever. His effective field-goal percentage during that stretch would obliterate his career mark by five full points (45.4).
More than that, the Pistons were clicking under his guidance, morphing into the league's fourth-most potent offense over that same stretch. Jennings was fueling a midseason playoff push, steering an offense, a team, that could actually go somewhere.
Tearing his Achilles does bridle any lingering optimism to a degree. And yet, while it's a serious injury, Jennings is still only 25, old enough to be considered a seasoned vet, young enough for folks to believe he'll bounce back.
The way in which Jennings plays supports the latter claim. His game is not prided on excessive explosion. He's quick, so his mobility will be something to monitor upon return, but he's mostly slippery and more reliant on squeezing through seams in the defense or hoisting up jumpers off the dribble and catch.
That latter preference is a prerequisite for Van Gundy-coached point guards. He favors one-in, four-out lineups that spread the floor and emphasize kick-out passes from the lone big or primary ball-handler.
Erratic reputation in mind, Jennings is an ideal fit for that offensive model. He can both create his own shot or set himself up off the ball, away from the action. He's shooting 42.3 percent off the catch overall and 41.7 percent when spotting up from deep, allowing for him to function at either guard position in a pinch.
Kind of like the one Detroit is in now.
Reggie Jackson
Jackson isn't anything like Jennings. Both point guards have their share of efficiency warts, but Jackson is raw athleticism and dependent on his first-step explosion to exploit defenses.
Getting to the rim takes precedence over everything else. Jackson leads the league in drives per game with 13, and more than 40 percent of his total shot attempts come within eight feet of the cup.
It's a gift to have a point guard who can seemingly reach the iron at will.
It's also a curse.
The rest of Jackson's offensive game is underdeveloped. It says a lot that more than half his made baskets have come around the rim, even though most of his shot attempts are from outside eight feet.
To say his jumper is broken would be putting it kindly. He's hitting just 34.4 percent of his shots outside eight feet, and his three-point-conversion rate has exceeded 30 percent just once in his career.
Playing away from the ball isn't something he's accustomed to or excels at. That he was able to function and, at times, thrive beside the ball-dominant Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook is astounding.
More than 16 percent of his total shots have been catch-and-shoot looks this season, of which he's burying just 21.4. That number somehow gets worse when he steps beyond the arc, dropping to 19.8 percent.
There's also something to be said about his performance as a starter. The Thunder were the league's second-worst offensive team through the 14 games Jackson played without both Durant and Westbrook—a direct reflection of insufficient surrounding talent, sure, but unimpressive nonetheless.
These are caveats the Pistons must consider not just when evaluating Jackson's compatibility as part of a dual-point guard system, but as an offensive lifeline overall. As one scout told Bleacher Report's Howard Beck, the concerns stretch well beyond Jennings' presence:
"Reggie's a talented scorer. He is a capable passer—but that's a secondary thought. He's more likely to try to get the assist pass than the secondary assist, or hockey assist. He seems to have an arrogance about the way he plays. He's a good defender, good on the ball, gets good pressure, steals when he's off the ball, gets in the passing lanes. He's definitely a talented player.
They're putting [Jackson] in position where he's got to be a star. But you've got Andre Drummond, who needs the ball, and somebody [needs] to get him the ball. If you keep Greg Monroe, then he needs somebody to get him the ball.
"
Tasking Jackson with the livelihood of an offense as the featured scorer is one thing.
Asking him to be a playmaker who frequently operates off the ball is another.
His passes are often last resorts, thrown out only when a shot he likes isn't available. Teammates are shooting 46.7 percent when he defers, a respectable number, yet one that pales in comparison to that of Jennings (52).
Left alone, as the No. 1 offensive option, Jackson should be fine. Displacing him from that narrow comfort zone, and the subsequent uncertainty, is paralyzing.
What to Do?
Everything about potential backcourt pairing comes back to Jennings.
The Pistons have backed themselves into a corner by (prematurely) committing to Jackson. He is not wired to be anything other than a ball-bearing point guard, so as Detroit Bad Boys' Vincent Diringer explains, it's on Jennings to tip the scale in one direction or the other:
"There are many possible outcomes that don't involve getting rid of Brandon, but the question remains whether or not he would be willing to give up his starting position, and how not only his injury, but Reggie's arrival has affected him mentally.
Jennings definitely grew as a player and leader in Detroit, he led the team to some of the best basketball since the Going to Work Pistons, and re-infused some hope and success into a deflated fanbase. It wouldn't be a stretch to imagine that the new Brandon Jennings would give up his own glory to benefit the team, but there is no saying whether he, or the Pistons make a move that could see him in another uniform, with SVG non-committal on whether additional point-guard moves will take place over the offseason.
"
Only Van Gundy knows for sure what the plan is as of now. He himself is in uncharted territory by putting any sort of stock in a point guard like Jackson, who is not his typical breed of floor general.
That doesn't mean this cannot work, that Jennings and Jackson cannot coexist. There's an ego element to all this, most notably whether Jennings is willing to sacrifice touches, minutes and status. But he does have the requisite on-court tools to complement Jackson as a backup or undersized shooting guard.
If Jennings is willing to use them, if he's willing to adjust and adapt his play style in ways only he can, the future in Detroit can include both Jackson and himself.
Stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference and NBA.com and are accurate as of Feb. 26 unless otherwise cited.
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
