Pierre Jackson says he's loyal to 76ers: 'I want to play in Philadelphia, man'
Opportunity shouldn't dictate loyalty.
In many cases, it does, but it may not for Pierre Jackson, who remains on a vpath to an NBA debut.
Jackson recently deemed himself 100-percent recovered from the torn Achilles that sunk his 2014-15 season before it got started, and he'll soon return to the scene of the injury, suiting up for the Philadelphia 76ers at Las Vegas Summer League in July. While he doesn't have a contract for 2015-16, the assumption for the last 11 months has been that Jackson will eventually be a Sixer when he finally gets into an NBA game, now two years removed from being drafted.
"There's a little bit of loyalty here," Jackson said at the 76ers' workout facility Tuesday. "I want to play in Philadelphia, man."
That loyalty Jackson speaks of is born from the fact that after he tore his Achilles, Philadelphia signed him to a contract with a $400,000 guarantee and then immediately waived him. That gave Jackson some security they didn't have to offer, making good on the fact that he was injured while playing for their summer team.
As explained in far too much detail at the time, the money meant little to a Sixers team below the salary floor and had the potential to save them money down the line if Jackson returned. They would have been hoping that Jackson, an unrestricted free agent without Bird rights, would be willing to sign with the Sixers despite possibly having more options league-wide, and willing to do so on a minimum contract.
| Pierre Jackson | Scenario A | Scenario B |
|---|---|---|
| 2014-15 | $507K | $400K |
| 2015-16 | $845K | $525K |
| 2016-17 | $980K | $875K |
| Total | $2.3M | $1.8M |
The Sixers only have five players on the books with guaranteed deals for next season and could use help at the point. An elite scorer at Baylor, Jackson went on to post the second-highest scoring average in D-League history in 2013-14, putting up 29.1 points and 6.2 assists per game.
Trialing Jackson as the team's backup point guard and a microwave man off the bench seems a prudent move for the Sixers, and it helps that Jackson is looking good in workouts.
Finally, the #FreePierreJackson movement may reach a happy conclusion.