Reggie Jackson
It took three teams to put Reggie Jackson in a Pistons uniform.
(AP Photo | Carlos Osorio)
OKLAHOMA CITY -- So about that trade.
The Detroit Pistons play the Oklahoma City Thunder tonight for the first time since the trade that ostensibly made Reggie Jackson an $80 million point guard in Detroit, and he is likely to hear about it before, during and after the 8 p.m. (EST) tipoff at Chesapeake Energy Arena (Fox Sports Detroit).
The Oklahoman's sports page today told the tale of how the game is regarded here. The Oklahoma City newspaper had a four-page wrap around the main sports section for coverage of the Oklahoma-Oklahoma State football game, but the top story on the third page was Jackson's return.
And it is a big tale.
But as to the Feb. 19 trade itself, which involved three teams, eight players and three draft picks, who won it?
The objectives of the Pistons were markedly different than trade partners Oklahoma City and Utah. Detroit coveted Jackson. The Thunder didn't want to pay him, in part because they wanted cap space for 2016 negotiations with Kevin Durant. Utah wanted to clear the decks for shot-blocking phenom Rudy Gobert by moving Enes Kanter before they had to pay him.
The Pistons, for Jackson, gave up D.J. Augustin, Kyle Singler, and second-round draft picks in 2017 and 2019. The draft picks are incidental when talking about a five-year starting point guard. Singler was a 3-point ace for Detroit and trading him necessitated a corresponding move in which Detroit gave up two expiring contracts for an expiring contract, all involving players in whom the Pistons had no long-term interest (Gigi Datome, Jonas Jerebko, Tayshaun Prince).
The Thunder gave up the most: Jackson to Detroit; Kendrick Perkins, Tibor Pleiss, Grant Jerrett and a 2017 protected first-rounder to Utah. From Detroit, the Thunder got a second-round pick and two cerebral players, one of whom has been precisely what Oklahoma City hoped (Augustin) while the other has struggled (Singler, in 40 games with the Thunder, is shooting 30 percent on field goals, 31.3 on 3-pointers, 64 on free throws, and none of his 18 total assists has come this season). From Utah, the Thunder got the promising talent Kanter and end-of-bench veteran shooter Steve Novak.
The Jazz dumped Kanter, whom they couldn't afford to keep, for the rights to Pleiss (he was playing in Germany until they signed him to a three-year contract this summer), the protected 2017 first-round pick from the Thunder, and the 2019 second-round pick from Detroit. They released both Perkins and Jerrett after the trade.
All three teams achieved their objectives. One can't really gauge the trade until several years from now, when the draft picks all play out.
As to which team got better fastest as a result, it would be difficult to argue against Detroit.
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