According to a report from Yahoo!’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Oklahoma City Thunder guard Reggie Jackson has informed the team he’d like to be traded.
“CAA’s Aaron Mintz made the request in the past seven to 10 days, and several teams around the league became aware as officials probed for information on potentially dealing for Jackson, league sources said.
Jackson, 24, has made it clear to the Thunder that he would be resistant to returning to the franchise should it keep him for the rest of the season and then decide to match an offer sheet in restricted free agency this summer.
Presti has made no commitment to moving Jackson, but has been willing to gauge the market and listen to pitches on potential deals as always, sources said.”
Rumors have been swirling for months that Jackson hasn’t been satisfied with his current role on the Thunder, so Jackson’s formal trade request isn’t at all surprising. It’s pretty simple, really, Jackson wants to be a starting point guard in this league and knows he’s not going to have that opportunity in Oklahoma City.
Jackson is also the most intriguing trade chip Thunder GM Sam Presti currently possesses; Jackson has that same sort of pre-Phoenix Eric Bledsoe mystery surrounding his ceiling as a point guard. We’ve seen flashes that Jackson can be an above-average starting point guard in the Association, just not consistently.
ESPN’s Chris Broussard is also reporting this:
Sources: Indy, Bos, Hou, Den all interested in Reggie Jackson. No guarantee OKC will trade him. They won’t give him away.
— Chris Broussard (@Chris_Broussard) February 18, 2015
The interesting thing about the four teams Broussard is citing that have interest in Jackson don’t make a lot of sense for, well, Reggie Jackson. A team like Miami, who desperately needs an upgrade at the starting point guard spot, isn’t listed, probably because of the team’s anemic assets, but they are the type of team that gives Jackson what he wants — a starting job.
The New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers, Sacramento Kings and even the Brooklyn Nets all seem like better situations for Jackson, but none of these potential destinations, outside of Brooklyn, can put together the type of trade package that Presti would jump on board with.
Indiana, Boston, Houston and Denver all have a lot of intriguing draft picks and/or talent that would keep Presti on the line longer than five seconds before hanging up.
Either way, it’ll be interesting to see how this Jackson situation plays out in the coming days.
