Oklahoma City Thunder guard Reggie Jackson appears likely to be traded before the upcoming deadline. Teams reportedly interested in the soon-to-be restricted free agent include the New York Knicks, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Sacramento Kings.
The Thunder's decision to trade for Dion Waiters earlier this month made Jackson's future with the team uncertain. Jackson is likely to receive sizeable offer sheets in July as a restricted free agent, but with Waiters playing well and on a team-friendly contract, Oklahoma City is no longer tethered to keeping Jackson at all costs. Instead of either committing a big chunk of future cap space to Jackson or losing him for nothing in the offseason, Thunder general manager Sam Presti will likely try to move him before the Feb. 19 trade deadline.
If Jackson does become available, three teams reportedly will pursue a trade for him: New York, Los Angeles and Sacramento.
"I think the Knicks and Lakers are two teams that will show interest because they'd love to have Jackson as part of their long-term plan, but neither team has great assets to make a deal happen," Basketball Insiders' Alex Kennedy wrote Wednesday. "The Kings are an interesting team to watch in this, as they have been very aggressive under Pete D'Alessandro and have been after some point guards in trade talks (Rajon Rondo, Deron Williams, etc.). They have a lot of assets - picks and young talent - so they could put together an interesting package. Don't overlook Sacramento in the Reggie Jackson sweepstakes."
The Thunder already appear to be preparing for the eventuality of losing Jackson. Since coming to Oklahoma City, Waiters more often than not has been the first guard off the bench and has been playing more minutes than Jackson, an indicator Jackson's time as the sixth man is coming to a close.
