Bobcats Acquire Stephen Jackson in Four-Player Deal
BREAKING NEWS: The Charlotte Bobcats have acquired G/F Stephen Jackson from the Golden State Warriors, along with guard Acie Law, in exchange for Raja Bell and Vladimir Radmanovic.
The Warriors have been silently shopping Jackson ever since he demanded a trade in the preseason, despite his career-best year last year. In the 2008-09 season, Jackson averaged 20.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 6.5 assists, making him one of only four players in the NBA to average those gaudy stats. The other three? Guys by the name of LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Paul.
But the Warriors decided Jackson’s presence in the locker room could be toxic and weigh down a team of youngsters, and thus, they shipped him to Charlotte in exchange for a defensive stopper in Bell.
Charlotte’s offense is averaging an NBA-low 82.4 points per game and had been desperately searching for a spark to their offense. They’d been mentioned as contenders for Jackson (behind Cleveland, the Texas teams, and the N.Y. Knicks), but they remained intent on keeping versatile big man Boris Diaw out of trade talks.
“I know Stephen, he loves to play, and we’ve got to make it work out — and I’m confident it will,” Charlotte head coach Larry Brown told ESPN.com’s Chris Sheridan. “Stephen gives us a lot of flexibility, but we lost a lot. Raja’s probably as good a defender as there is in the league at his position, and tough, and Vlade was an unbelievable teammate. But you make a trade and hope it helps your team, and you hope it helps the other team, too.
“We are struggling, we can’t score,” Brown added, “but one of the reasons we’re struggling was because Raja and Flip [Murray] were out and missed a lot of time, and Tyson [Chandler] and Boris basically missed all of preseason. Those are four key guys, plus we didn’t have rookie camp or summer league, so our rookies are a little behind. So there’s a lot of factors, but yeah, we have had problems scoring the ball. We’re defending well, but we just can’t make a shot.”
Jackson’s agent, Mark Stevens, told ESPN.com: “This is what he wanted, a new start, and this gives him a chance to compete. Plus, he’s a huge fan of that team’s president, Michael Jordan.” Stevens also mentioned that Jackson is expected to be dressed, in uniform, for the Bobcats’ game against the Orlando Magic tonight.
