Friday Bolts – 6.24.11

divisadero :I like the part where the Thunder screwed over Miami.

This!

If you want more assists you might want to take the ball from Westbrook after all but only if that means less unassisted shot attempts by him.

The Thunder were 23rd of assists in 2009-10. They talked some about becoming a better passing team. Their assists per game went up slightly but they still ended up in 24th place this season as the league also increased its average. Durant's assists per minute haven't moved in 4 seasons (up 0.1 per 36 minutes earlier but he lost that this season). Harden's went up by 0.1 per 36 minutes. A lot of it is the system and the lack of shooters. Harden could get more if he had the ball more but it could be on average that the more possessions you take the ball from Westbrook and give it to Harden the less team assists they'll get. Maybe not if you do it right but maybe the best ways to get more assists is to get 2 passers on the court more and put more good shooters on the court. Jackson on the court with Westbrook or Maynor could provide both while Cook only provided one.

Poor Charles Jenkins though.. there might not have been a worse fit for him than Golden State

Danny :So not a single person mentioned that Jackson might be able to play off of the ball? Is it really THAT farfetched? He looks like a bigger, better-shooting Roddy B. to me.I think that Jackson is here to add depth at SG, and he is insurance in case the team cannot resign Maynor.

i liked that in his scouting report it actually mentions that he spent a lot of time off the ball this year at BC. Probably not coincidentally, his 3 pt percentage skyrocketed as well. I'm pretty sold on the kid.

Nogueira pulled out after a so-so showing at the Eurocamp. From Ford:

Nogueira came and did his thing at Eurocamp in Treviso, Italy. He was long, active and blocked shots and rebounded in the one game he played here. He had five boards and four blocks but shot just 1-for-6 from the field. He was better Saturday against the under-19 Serbian teams scoring 11 points and grabbing five boards and four steals. True to his scouting report, his effort was often inconsistent all day. A leg cramp forced him to shut things down Sunday afternoon and he skipped his team's game.

Teams like Nogueria, but he was looking for a first-round promise and withdrew from the draft Monday. We'll likely see him try this again in the next few years. If his body fills out and his effort gets more consistent, he's a great long-term prospect.

What happened to that Brazilian guy? Did he pull out?

Jackson's supposed to have a 7 foot wingspan, let's round down that figure to 6'10. Very few 6'3" height and under players have wingspans 6'10" or over.

Players with comparable height and wingspan: Gilbert Arenas, George Hill, Roddy Beaubois, Zabian Dowdell, and Smush Parker.

It's clear Jackson will have no problem guarding 2's part of the time.

scary_larry : Boomer Sooner…… REGGIE REGGIE REGGIE!!!

I like this. He should ask nate for the jersey #3 so everyone can hold up the 3 fingers

@ Loud City Jimmy

I kind of thought the same thing.

What's with that guy from CBS calling us "depth-challenged?" Who in the NBA has a better 10-deep roster than us?

How is Tibor Pleiss doing over in Europe?

@ Danny
i didn't say those words, but i think he will play mostly off the ball. I think you are right on.

@ Danny
Agreed. He gives us a little more leverage with Cook, but isn't going to be asked to much of anything this year regardless.

So not a single person mentioned that Jackson might be able to play off of the ball? Is it really THAT farfetched? He looks like a bigger, better-shooting Roddy B. to me.

I think that Jackson is here to add depth at SG, and he is insurance in case the team cannot resign Maynor.

I also noticed that he LOVES to stick his nose in there for offensive rebounds and tip-ins, like Russ does. No wonder he averaged more than 4 rebs per game as a point guard. He crashes the boards HARD. I bet at least half of his rebounds were on the offensive glass.

I like the pick:

1. Presti made it - and it appears as though he got the exact player he intended to get, which is a good omen in my opinion. It doesn't seem totally clear as to whether it was OKC or Miami he was shutting himself down for, and that does make a difference to me, but i'm sure presti has it under control.

2. There wasn't really any reason to go after another big man unless it was a guy the FO thought was a perfect fit. With Pleiss, Cole, Byron, Serge, Perkins, and Collison, its hard to see where another big would have found even the room to develop (okay maybe overseas, but again only if the FO thinks he is the best pick)

3. From the reading i've done about him since the pick happened, he seems to have a reputation as a guy with a lot of physical tools that make him hard to defend who is patient and plays within the flow of the game. If he can live up to that and embrace a 6th man kind of mentality, he could be a great player for that role.

4. Which allows harden to start.

5. One of his praises i have heard is his p-n-r game. That his patience and ability/willingness to pass or shoot make him a good pick and roll handler, which is great with NC or Nazr (although it would be nice to have a more dynamic pick side player on the team - Serge? maybe someday). i think this is something russell is lacking on - although i'm positive he will get better - so maybe RJ will bring some more of that action to the floor.

divisadero :I like the part where the Thunder screwed over Miami.

Did we really screw them over or were they just over-confident? If Jackson worked out for the Thunder and not Miami, that would make me think that Miami was never really in the picture...they only thought they were. Kinda like when LeBron said that the Thunder were only renting Perk until the summer, at which point he'd be coming to Miami. LOL

I love the jackson pick. Hey goes to the NBADL for his first year. He gets a few call ups this year. Next year Maynor is in his last year of his contract. If Maynor wants big money he probably will get it from some team, but if he wants championships he will understand Presti will not be able to resigns to an uber contract or give him the starting role. I just think Presti took the best athlete with upside potential that is left. I wish we would have gained that 2,3,4 back up role guy. Who knows we may have gotten the back up 2 with Reggie. The other great this about having Reggie is that Sooner fans are used to cheering for a young chap named Reggie. To me Presti is looking at the bigger picture and he understands the needs and sees the changes occur before they happen. He is very wise. Boomer Sooner...... REGGIE REGGIE REGGIE!!!

So will we ever learn the truth as to who actually gave a promise to Jackson?

I notice in the highlight clips that he loves the reverse layup. He really knows how to use the rim to protect his shot from getting blocked. Since he has such long arms, the reverse layup probably comes more easily to him than other players.

@justin

I think you're right about Jackson not being a replacement for anyone in the short term. Brooks makes players earn their minutes. It probably won't be any different with Jackson.

Just watched the highlight video in the last thread. My favorite part was the 1:50 mark where he shows a little post move. I hope he is able to contribute down the line.

I like the part where the Thunder screwed over Miami.

Joshua G : Is there anything else that Miami has that we might want?

I wouldn't mind having beach babes in bikinis nearby, but other than that....no, there's nothing Miami has that we want.

@ GonePostel

It's not a stretch at all. He's probably not a replacement for anyone in the short term, he's just the type of talent the team didn't have. If James Harden starts the team will have nobody on the bench who can create offense. Jackson might be able to.

I liked the thought of getting a combo guard in this draft which seemed deep there at our pick range.

This pick makes a whole lot of sense if you look at Jackson as a replacement for Cook instead of Maynor. With his length and athleticism, I don't think it is too much of a stretch. Also, it gives you 4 rotation guards who can run point (Russ, Harden, Maynor, Jackson) and 3 who can play the 2 (all but Maynor). I can dig it.

@ Daniel Hawaii

well, I'm hopeful he can play that two guard facilitator role a la james harden.

@Daniel Hawaii

I've even seen Jackson shoot a couple tear drops a la Maynor.

bosco :I know this is overly optimistic, but jackson seems kind of like a russell westbrook/james harden hybrid, if there was such a thing.

Now that I've read more about him and watched his highlights, I actually think he's like a Russell Westbrook/Eric Maynor hybrid.

He is athletic like Russ, (though obviously not as athletic as Russ), and can finish at the rim. But he also seems to prefer slowing the pace down and running pick and roll, like Maynor. He also isn't a turnover machine and takes care of the ball, like Maynor.

I do like the pick, but I'm still bummed that we didn't get Monjiejunas. We need an offensive minded big to round out the rotation. Not sure Jackson will play this year, but what else to expect from pick 24 in a weak draft? Expectations were low anyway...

I'm still touting the Okur trade. If we landed Okur (and Thabo plays 15 or less minutes a game) I believe WCF at a minimum for our expectations.

There's nothing Miami has that we want. And why would you trade a young, promising PG with loads of talent/athleticism to the Heat anyway?

There are better name. At my work I met an old woman named "Georgia Fighter," and a dude named "Will Punch."

Jackson seems like a cross between Westbrook and Darren Collison.

Don't you guys get it? Miami wanted him. We're going to use this as leverage to trade for Chris Bosh.
(jk)
I would eat my own face if we went after Ru Paul the Fake Tough Guy. Is there anything else that Miami has that we might want?

I know this is overly optimistic, but jackson seems kind of like a russell westbrook/james harden hybrid, if there was such a thing.

Picking Reggie Jackson at #24 is an outrage. We should've taken that developed two-way center instead.