The LA Clippers announced on Tuesday that they’re bringing back Reggie Jackson on on a minimum contract to fill their backup guard spot.
After an offseason of wondering if the LA Clippers would pick up somebody to be another ballhandler, the team finally answered our questions. They brought back Reggie Jackson to play another season in LA.
It’s a move that, when you read it, you probably either groaned or shrugged and said “eh, whatever.” I find myself more on the latter; this feels like a move that is going to get much more hate from fans of the team than it probably deserves.
Don’t take that to mean that I’m praising the move, though. I just don’t think it’s going to have enough of an impact to be too unhappy about it. Remember, we’re not coached by Doc anymore.
It’s hard to imagine Lue giving Reggie the role that Doc did. It’s unlikely that he’s going to take the job of defending Luka Doncic, say, when the game is on the line.
Reggie can knock down open threes with the best of them. He shot 45% on catch and shoot threes last year, and he has the potential to be the kind of weapon that stops teams from comfortably doubling Kawhi in the post.
Of course, the issue is that, too often, Reggie wants to be more than a spot up sniper. He likes having the ball in his hands, but it’s not exactly a benefit to the team. Per NBA stats, on isolation possessions, Reggie only clocked in 0.55 points per possession – an absolutely horrendous number.
On defense, he’s a negative who is going to need to be hidden, unless we want a repeat of the Luka game winner. The flip side to that is that the team now has more people who can help hide him in Serge Ibaka and, possibly, Nicolas Batum.
Ultimately, just like I said for Batum, Reggie’s a minimum contract, so I don’t know that his return warrants many strong feelings. If he’s not performing and he’s dragging the team down, the team can cut him with no consequences and replace him with somebody who will play the role better.
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