Oklahoma City Thunder guard Reggie Jackson seemingly became expendable after the team traded for guard Dion Waiters on Jan. 5. With Jackson becoming a restricted free agent after the season, Thunder general manager Sam Presti could end up trading him before the Feb. 19 deadline.
Jackson may have played himself out of Oklahoma City. The point guard has played so well over the last season-and-a-half that he's likely to receive a lucrative offer sheet this summer when he becomes a restricted free agent. Although Presti was adamant in the offseason about bringing Jackson back at any cost, the Thunders' decision to trade for Waiters's team-friendly contract seemed to indicate Presti had a midseason change of heart.
Waiters has the potential to be the team's sixth man - the role presently occupied by Jackson - at a much cheaper price. Jackson will likely seek - and be offered - a contract befitting of a starter, but with Waiters now on the roster, Presti no longer has to keep Jackson at any cost.
If the Thunders' game on Friday against the Utah Jazz was any indication, Presti is already experimenting with how the team would play with Waiters replacing Jackson: Waiters was the first guard off the bench, and he played 26 minutes compared to Jackson's 15 minutes.
According to Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman, not many believe Jackson will be on the Thunder next season.
"Publicly, team officials are downplaying the awkwardness of the Dion Waiters trade and what the move might mean for Jackson's future in OKC. They tout Waiters' addition as added flexibility and firepower, a fourth offensive force that can create with the ball in his hands," Mayberry wrote Sunday. "But why pay Jackson, a restricted free agent this summer, upwards of $12 million annually to do something three others on this team can do? It would be illogical, and it's the leading reason why few think Jackson is long for Oklahoma City."
Jackson won't be short of suitors, but it's a matter of how much teams will be willing to offer Oklahoma City in a trade when they can keep their assets and just pursue Jackson in July. Barring a playoff-bound team suffering a major injury in the backcourt, the Thunder may not recoup Jackson's worth in a trade this season.
