Reggie Jackson Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Central Notes: Wade, Jackson, Cavaliers

April 4th, 2017 at 5:58pm CST by Austin Kent

Previously reported to be working out in hopes of, at best, returning for the postseason, a comeback before the end of the regular season now appears to be on the table for Dwyane Wade. Vincent Goodwill of CSN Chicago recently wrote about how the Bulls are optimistic about the veteran’s progress.

“It’s a day by day thing with Dwyane now,” Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said. “He’s feeling better but obviously there’s a lot of work to do as far as getting his strength back.”

Fresh off of a four-game win streak, the Bulls now have a tenuous grasp on the Eastern Conference’s seven seed. With a distinct shot at competing in an unpredictable conference, the club would welcome the opportunity to get their offseason addition back into a routine prior to any official postseason action.

There’s more out of the Central Division:

After a disappointing season in which he never quite replicated the impact he had on his team the previous year, Reggie Jackson has been bumped from the Pistons lineup. Per Aaron McMann of MLive, head coach Stan Van Gundy thinks that the decision to sit the guard should have come sooner. “I think [sitting him] probably should have happened earlier, and I don’t think we were real fair with him in that,” he said.
The Pistons are aware that they face an uphill battle to sneak into the postseason but head coach Stan Van Gundy is eager to compete anyway. “Right now, you continue to fight,” Van Gundy told MLive’s Aaron McMann. “We know the deal. We’ve got a couple of teams — we pretty much have to go undefeated, and we need a couple of teams to lose three more games. It’s not easy, but nothing’s impossible in this league.“
The reigning champion Cavaliers have hit some bumps in the road since the All-Star break. Tom Withers of the Denver Post wrote about how frustration on the court may be starting to seep into the locker room.

Central Notes: Jackson, Pistons, Rondo, Mirotic

March 29th, 2017 at 4:16pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pistons are reportedly considering shutting down Reggie Jackson for the rest of the season, and if it happens, it would be the end to an extremely disappointing 2016/17 campaign for the team’s starting point guard. Jackson, who got off to a late start this season due to a knee injury, admits that he has felt like “a shell” of himself at times, per Aaron McMann of MLive.com.

“I wasn’t quite the same, and that’s something the organization saw, and I think they want to take care of it,” Jackson said. “Myself, like I said, it was a wall that I kept hitting, and it was one I was going to find a way to run through. … It’s tough. It’s very tough. It’s annoying, it’s frustrating. You know you’re better than what you’re putting out there on the court.”

As Detroit continues to compete for a playoff spot – without Jackson in the lineup for now – let’s round up a few more notes out of the division…

Even if the Pistons sneak into the playoffs, it has been a very disappointing season in Detroit, and major changes could be on the way this summer. As David Mayo of MLive.com writes, everything will be considered and everyone will be evaluated by the Pistons.
There were times this season when Rajon Rondo and Nikola Mirotic found themselves on the outs in the Bulls‘ rotation, but they’re playing some of their best ball of the season as of late, writes Sam Smith of Bulls.com. Rondo has a partially guaranteed salary for 2017/18, while Mirotic will be a restricted free agent, so both players are increasing their value at the right time.
Magic head coach Frank Vogel “really wants” veteran power forward David West to come and join his coaching staff whenever West retires as a player, tweets ESPN’s Zach Lowe. A 14-year veteran, West is playing a career-low 12.1 minutes per game this season, so Vogel may soon get an opportunity to hire him. The duo spent a few years together in Indiana when Vogel was coaching the Pacers.
With the postseason around the corner, Tyronn Lue is facing his toughest challenge since taking over as the Cavaliers‘ head coach. Terry Pluto of The Cleveland Plain Dealer explains.

Central Notes: Jackson, Korver, Jefferson

March 28th, 2017 at 8:45pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Pistons executive/coach Stan Van Gundy said he was his call to sit Reggie Jackson over the last couple games, as Rod Beard of the Detroit News tweets. “It has strictly been my call all the way. Reggie wants to be out there,” Van Gundy said. Earlier today, it was reported that the team may shut Jackson down for the remainder of the season.

Here’s more from the Central Division:

Kyle Korver will miss at least the next two games for the Cavaliers. He could miss more time, but he definitely wants to return before the end of the regular season, Marla Ridenour of the Akron Beacon Journal relays. “No, no, I don’t want to do that at all,” Korver said when asked about missing the rest of the season. “I’m hopeful just a few days here to completely shut down and not trying to test it out and see how it feels today. Take a few days and let it totally calm down and see where we’re at.”
Al Jefferson will be sidelined for at least two weeks as he recovers from a sprained left ankle, according to the Pacers‘ website. Jefferson suffered the injury against the Sixers on Sunday.
Glenn Robinson III will remain out for at least another week with a left calf strain, the Pacers add in the same press release. He’ll be re-evaluated at the end of next week.

Pistons Consider Shutting Down Reggie Jackson

March 28th, 2017 at 8:55am CST by Arthur Hill

Pistons point guard Reggie Jackson was held out of Monday’s game and could be shut down for the remainder of the season, according to Rod Beard of The Detroit News.

Jackson has been battling tendinitis in his left knee since October. He missed the season’s first 21 games after receiving platelet-rich plasma injections and was recently put in a platoon with Ish Smith to reduce his minutes. As a result, Jackson’s stats in points (14.5 per game), assists (5.2) and rebounds (2.2) all down significantly from last season.

Detroit coach/executive Stan Van Gundy said Jackson is doubtful tonight against Miami in a crucial matchup in the playoff race. That would give him four days of rest before Thursday’s game against Brooklyn, and the coach said “we’ll see” if Jackson can be ready then. Van Gundy consulted Monday with owner Tom Gores before deciding to keep Jackson on the bench.

“We’ve been thinking about this for a long time. It’s hard to put a percentage, but he’s been playing at probably about 80 percent and as we get into this stretch of games in March where we’re playing a lot, the fatigue is making it worse,” Van Gundy said. “We were at a stretch in the year where it wasn’t fair for him that we were running him out there and putting pressure on him. He’s seeing things he should be able to do and he just can’t do them. He’s not feeling pain, but he can’t make the plays he wants to make and we’re putting him out there.”

The Pistons are fighting for their playoff lives with just eight games remaining. They have dropped seven of their last last eight, but trail the eighth-place Heat by just a game and a half heading into tonight’s showdown.

Smith moved into the starting role for the past two games, with veteran Beno Udrih as his backup. Depending on the Pistons’ success and the status of Jackson’s knee, that could be the arrangement through the end of the season.

“As much as [Jackson] wants to, he can’t right now,” Van Gundy said. “It’s amazing what he’s done to average 14.5 points, 5 assists in 27 minutes, not anywhere near at full strength. To his credit, he fought me on it. He wanted to keep going.”

Jackson is finishing up the second season of a five-year, $80MM deal he signed in 2015. Although he has been the subject of trade rumors throughout the season, Van Gundy said Jackson remains in the Pistons’ plans for the future.

“The thing we look forward to is getting a fresh start in the offseason and being able to go through the preparation for a season like he did last year,” Van Gundy said. “… Physically, there’s no structural damage so we’re very optimistic that he’ll be able to get back to that.”

Pistons Notes: Jackson, Drummond, Van Gundy

March 25th, 2017 at 9:27am CST by Milo Taibi

The wheels are falling off for the 34-39 Pistons, who are 1.5 games out of the eighth seed following a 115-87 loss to the Magic. Reggie Jackson– who has been coming off the bench of late- said nobody’s job is safe.

“(Missing the playoffs) would suck — it sucks every year you’re not in the postseason and not one of the teams competing to be the last one standing,” Jackson told Rod Beard of Detroit News. “It’s tough. It’s a performance-based league so all our jobs are on the line. If we don’t get where we want to be, I’m sure coach knows as coach-president, he has a lot on the line. Myself, I was brought in to be the point guard and I have a lot on the line. We don’t know who’s going to be back next year or who’s going to be here tomorrow.”

Stan Van Gundy‘s Pistons have dropped six of their last seven, entering crisis mode in the middle of a playoff chase. If there’s one saving grace for Detroit, three of their next four opponents are fellow sub-.500 teams.

Central Notes: Bogut, Portis, Carter-Williams

March 5th, 2017 at 8:20pm CST by Austin Kent

The Cavaliers bench is as deep as its been in 47 years of franchise history, Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com writes. The addition of Andrew Bogut, who signed Thursday and is scheduled to play Monday, gives the club an impressively qualified 11th man.

Though Vardon acknowledges that many coaches reduce their rotation to seven or eight players in the postseason, Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue will have every opportunity to keep his at nine or ten.

“You never know what can happen and now you always got those guys on the bench that are ready to play,” Lue said of the new Cavaliers. “They are veteran guys that can step up, been in big positions and are capable of making good plays in the playoffs. So, that’s always a luxury to have.”

There’s more from the Central Division:

He didn’t demote Reggie Jackson to the bench but Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy did tweak the minute distribution at the point guard position, MLive’s Aaron McMann reports. “The only thing we told [Jackson] was, he was going to go in shorter bursts and really pace himself,” Van Gundy said. “Push himself defensively and try and get the pace of the game up on offense. That’s all we talked about.”
Head coach Fred Hoiberg spoke about some of the miscommunication issues he’s had with Bulls players like Bobby Portis and Michael Carter-Williams. Mark Strotman of CSN Chicago reports that Hoiberg sounded frustrated when questioned about the reported incidents.
Released by the Heat mid-season, Derrick Williams has already found himself in a “perfect situation” in Cleveland, Marla Ridenour of the Akron Beacon Journal writes. Williams’ confidence is surging thanks to the support of his Cavaliers teammates. “When you’ve got guys like [LeBron James] telling you to shoot, the confidence just goes through the roof,” Williams said.

Ish Smith May Replace Reggie Jackson In Starting Lineup

March 3rd, 2017 at 6:11pm CST by Milo Taibi

Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy is contemplating starting Ish Smith over Reggie Jackson, according to a report from Rod Beard of The Detroit News. Van Gundy has showed concern of his starting unit’s lack of energy and production, Beard reports, and has not been pleased with Jackson and Andre Drummond‘s defensive efforts.

“Those are the two guys [Jackson and Drummond]. The energy has got to go up,” Van Gundy said. “Andre picked up his energy the other night but that’s got to be on a consistent basis, and we need more energy out of Reggie.”

It’s been a slog for Jackson of late, averaging nine points on 32.6% shooting over his last four games. The 26-year-old still has plenty of upside, but has regressed in PPG, rebounds, assists, and field goal percentage from 2015/16. Jackson was mentioned in rumors throughout the trade deadline, but stayed put due to Detroit’s high asking price, as well as his lengthy contract (Jackson is in the second season of a five-year, $80MM deal).

The Pistons enter a vital stretch of their season with just a one game lead over the eighth seed. Though Smith’s recent play has hardly been stellar- shooting 33.3% over his last five games- Van Gundy may give him the starting role in Saturday’s match-up with Philadelphia.

“We’ve got to get better energy off the start of the games,” Van Gundy said. “The last Philadelphia game was one of our better starts in each half. That’s got to get going — that’s not just him (Jackson). Anything’s possible right now, but we’ve got to get playing better and we’ve got to get our first unit playing more consistently and playing better.”

Central Notes: Pistons, Parker, Rondo

February 26th, 2017 at 10:42pm CST by Austin Kent

Rumors swirled around Pistons players as the NBA’s trade deadline approached but as Thursday came and went, the Detroit roster went unchanged. Stan Van Gundy spoke with Aaron McMann of MLive about the club’s lack of activity.

“Look, we’re not real happy with how we’ve played up to this point overall, but we still do have a young group,” Van Gundy said of the now 28-31 Pistons.. “And as much as you would like the progress to be steadily up hill, it’s not always. That doesn’t mean that you lose faith in your guys.”

The Pistons have struggled since starting guard Reggie Jackson returned to the lineup in early December, previously he had been recovering from a knee procedure and Ish Smith had stepped in to man the point. Over the course of the past month, Jackson’s name has been linked to the Timberwolves in a possible two- or three- team trade, potentially involving the Knicks.

“You don’t want to get that deal fever where you just want to make a deal so badly that you end up making a bad one,” he said. Considering that Andre Drummond and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, two names that came up as possible trade candidates at the deadline, are just 23 and 24 years old respectively, patience may still pay off.

There’s more out of the Central Division:

Though 2014 second-overall pick Jabari Parker will miss the remainder of this season and part of next season recovering from a torn ACL, his second drastic injury in the past three seasons, the Bucks didn’t consider dealing him at the deadline, tweets Stephen Watson of WISN 12 News. “Absolutely not,” general manager John Hammond told Watson, when asked explicitly.
It’s not clear whether the Bulls will embrace a rebuild or continue to push to win now and the continued presence of Rajon Rondo in the lineup embodies the organization’s indirection, Nick Friedell of ESPN writes.
After a pair of 10-day contracts with the Hornets, former Pistons guard Ray McCallum – one of the last cut by the Pistons during training camp – is back in the D-League with Detroit’s affiliate in Grand Rapids. The point guard is averaging 17.8 points and 7.5 assists per game with the Drive so far this season.

Latest On Pistons Point Guard Reggie Jackson

February 23rd, 2017 at 10:23am CST by Dana Gauruder

Reggie Jackson is likely to stay put because of the Pistons’ high asking price, league executives told Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today (Twitter link).

The team’s front office — headed by president of basketball operations and coach Stan Van Gundy and GM Jeff Bower — has been aggressively shopping the point guard, Chris Mannix of The Vertical tweets, and is seeking a first-round pick, young player and an expiring contract in return.

The large package that the Pistons want for Jackson could indicate that they believe his inconsistent play this season is injury-related and that he’ll return to top form next season, Rod Beard of the Detroit News speculates (Twitter link). Jackson missed the first 21 games after receiving a plasma-rich injection for knee tendinitis during training camp. Jackson is averaging 15.2 PPG and 5.6 APG since his return after posting averages of 18.8 PPG and 6.2 APG last season when Detroit won 44 games and made the playoffs.

Jackson has been the subject of trade speculation for weeks, with the Timberwolves and Magic at the forefront of potential suitors. A Jackson-for-Ricky-Rubio rumor surfaced last month, though Van Gundy quickly shot it down. The Orlando discussions involved D.J. Augustin and Jeff Green but the Magic currently have nothing cooking for either Jackson or Rubio, Sam Amick of USA Today tweets. However, Jake L. Fischer of SI.com tweets that Orlando can get Jackson if it’s willing to part with a valuable first-rounder.

Eastern Rumors: PG-13, Celtics, Rose, Bulls

February 22nd, 2017 at 10:12pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Earlier tonight, we passed along the latest notes and rumors from the Western Conference. Here’s the latest from the Eastern Conference:

Teams around the league believe that the Pacers are simply looking to gather information on the market for Paul George rather than shopping him, David Aldridge of NBA.com tweets.
Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe (Twitter link) hears that there have not been any “substantial talks” between the Celtics and the Pacers or Bulls this week.
There’s a feeling around the league that the Knicks “would give Derrick Rose away” in a trade, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Facebook Live link). Rose has recently been linked to the Wolves.
In the same segment, Wojnarowski adds that he believes the Bulls may be interested in Jahlil Okafor regardless of whether they trade Jimmy Butler. Wojnarowski added that the Sixers would need at least a first-round pick to part with Okafor while the Bulls are likely to try and offload Nikola Mirotic in an Okafor deal.
Wojnarowski adds (same piece) that the Bulls are firmly behind coach Fred Hoiberg. The organization wants to make it work with the former college coach and if Chicago trades Butler, the franchise could put together a team that’s much younger and possibly better suited for Hoiberg’s coaching style.
Reggie Jackson‘s trade value is at an all-time low and Wojnarowski (same piece) doesn’t envision the Pistons trading him at the deadline.
The Hawks acquired Ersan Ilyasova earlier today and Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link) hears that the team isn’t done dealing.
The Raptors continue to offer Jared Sullinger and a draft choice to teams as they look for help on the wing, Sam Amico of Amico Hoops tweets.