So What Does Demetrius Jackson's Deal Mean?
Last week, there were rumblings of Demetrius Jackson actually sticking around while the rest of the news was about Yabu and Zizic becoming draft and stash players. Then following those rumors, we got this
Well, this was all confirmed once the specifics came out (fourth year is a team option)
This deal slightly edges out what the Celts gave Mickey (4yr/5M) which clearly shows how much the Celtics like this kid. Remember, for the most part Jackson was a first round talent that had no injury concerns, and fell to the Celtics in the second round like a ton of bricks. The fact that this is the highest deal a player outside the top 40 has signed speaks volumes. They must really, really like him. Once the “games” actually started, here is what we saw.
In Utah, he was solid, averaging 7/2/1 and had 50%/80% splits and while that doesn’t jump off the page at you, for a guy taken at 45 he at least wasn’t shitting his pants. Once things moved to Vegas, Jackson struggled a little bit, with 4/2/1 averages and 33%/10% splits. We saw that he had glaring holes in his game, he basically can’t go left which is concerning, but what we did see is that he has an NBA ready body, and I always looked at it like if Phil Pressey can make this team, then maybe Jackson could too.
Now the first thing you’re probably saying to yourself is, “jesus christ, another guard???” The closer you look at his deal, you see that the first year is most likely guaranteed, which means that it’s highly probable he’s on the final roster come opening night. That DOESN’T mean he still won’t go to Maine, so when you look at the depth chart and see Marcus Smart, Terry Rozier, Isaiah Thomas etc, that sort of makes sense. For me, this is more telling about the future of guys like Marcus Thornton than it does tell me the Celtics are trading Rozier or Smart…but they still could be. Sure that may be me holding on to the slim hope of a future move, but maybe we need to simply trust Danny when it comes to point guards. The development of Terry Rozier has convinced me that if Danny believes in a guard, then I should too.
If we’re being honest, this move does make me a little nervous if my name is James Young, even though they are different positions. First the Celts bring back Gerald Green who plays his position, then they guarantee the first year of a second round rookie, not the most encouraging signs.
Barring a trade or a blowout I’m not sure how much we’ll see Jackson actually suit up for Boston, but the fact that they committed that sort of money and years to a guy like this shows me that maybe there is something there. We all loved the Celts second round on draft night, and with the play of both Nader and Jackson this summer, you should feel better than ever.