Inaction Jackson

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Stats don’t tell you everything. But they usually tell you something.

Consider the following info I uncovered this morning. Now, these are basic stats and not the advanced variety. But there’s something about these numbers that are telling:

Reggie Jackson in 13 games as a starter: 39 minutes per game, 20.2ppg, 7.8apg, 5.2rpg, 41.6% FG, 27.0% 3FG, 4.7FTA per game. Most of those games were when the Thunder had only 8 or 9 healthy bodies. It was what we can now call the “Lance Thomas era” of Thunder basketball.

Reggie Jackson in 12 games with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook: 27 minutes per game, 9.5ppg, 2.9apg, 2.9rpg, 38.1% FG, 16.7% 3FG, about 1FTA per game.

It doesn’t get much more bipolar than that. And it’s a far cry from the steady production he gave the team last season as both a starter and a reserve.

Beyond the stats, Jackson has a different look when Durant and Westbrook are on the floor. There’s almost no aggressiveness. He settles far too often for deep, contested jumpers. He almost has the look of my 3-year old when I have to put him in timeout. It’s not quite “Steve Francis sucking on a lemon face after being drafted by the Vancouver Grizzlies”, but the body language is off. Way off.

We’ve been told over and over by Sam Presti how he feels about Jackson as a core member of the team. We keep hearing from various sources that the Thunder intends to match any offer for Jackson this coming summer. There’s plenty to like and love about Jackson, as good a guy as you’d ever meet by just about every account. I’ve yet to have one person speak ill of him.

But if he can’t fit, he may be shipped. Sorry, that’s the best I could come up with.

The acquisition of Dion Waiters is a sign that the front office is on top of things and, to quote the great Sam Cooke, “a change is gonna come.” As much as we may want Jackson to get back into his 2013-14 form, maybe that time has passed.

This all is worth mentioning because the whispers have already started about the Thunder being future cheap (despite the fact that dealing for Waiters puts them in the luxury tax at the moment). Here’s one example:

It’s reaching for low-hanging fruit. If Jackson can’t produce on this team, why on earth should they max him out so he can continue to not do so? It’s mind boggling.

But, rightfully or wrongly (mostly the latter), the Thunder have a reputation that they can’t shake. Never mind that being a tax payer brings roster-building limitations. Presti preaches flexibility nearly every time he’s asked about front office maneuvers. It’s a concept that is quickly and easily dismissed by observers. But it’s that flexibility that at least gave them a shot at pursuing Pau Gasol, and it’s flexibility that allowed them to acquire Waiters using a trade exception. Neither would have been likely had the team recklessly spent itself into the luxury tax.

So if Jackson is ultimately traded before the February 19 deadline (much more likely today than it seemed even 48 hours ago), keep the stats in mind, not the tax.