Detroit Pistons: Is Reggie Jackson a serviceable starter for the future?

Reggie Jackson has one year left on the four year/80 million dollar deal he signed in 2015. Is he is still the Detroit Pistons point guard of the future?

The Detroit Pistons have their superstar. It’s Blake Griffin.

The Pistons have his partner in crime. It’s Andre Drummond.

But, do the Pistons still have their point guard of the future? And as in future, as early as next year?

Reggie Jackson was once a pretty divisive player in Detroit when he first arrived in the city. His ball dominant play could anger fans at times, and he had a reputation of being a bit too cocky for a locker room.

However, Jackson has changed his perception while in Detroit. Those who’ve watched him in the Motor City see how far he’s grown as a leader. Talks of him being a cancer in the locker room are almost laughable now to think about.

When the Pistons traded for Griffin, there were questions on whether Jackson would give up some of his ball-handling duties to a far superior player. Would Jackson be self-aware enough to understand that it is now Blake’s team, not his?

And this past season he showed not only is he okay with giving up touches, but he’s also willing to do so.

There were zero problems with Jackson in the locker room, and zero problems with Jackson asking for the ball too much. Actually, there were many people (Ku Khahil is one of them) who wished Jackson WOULD have gotten the ball more.

But, no. Instead of causing issues by asking for more touches like 2015-16, Jackson accepted his role and did his best to help his team win in this role.

Jackson went on to shoot a career-high three-point percentage this season (37 percent) on career-high attempts (5.7). That, in and of itself, is pretty damn good. But, when you think about what type of player he was before Griffin arrived, no one would’ve thought Jackson could do that.

But, he did.

He also played in. Every. Single. Game. This. Season.

Yes, the man who missed 67 games in the past two seasons to sink the Pistons seasons, played in all 86 of the Detroit Pistons games this season. And within this season, he had the best true shooting percentage of his career (54.7 percent).

Oh, and the lack of explosion we saw in the past two seasons? Yeah, he regained that too. Of course, this doesn’t tell the entire story, but Jackson had 14 dunks this season; the most dunks he’s had in a season since his 2014-2015 season.

He exhibited the explosion that Pistons fans had grown accustomed to when he first arrived. Combine this with his much-improved jump shot, and you now have a pretty complete offensive player at your point guard position.

Let us bring up where it matters most: The Playoffs.

Yes, the Detroit Pistons were swept.

Yes, none of the games were really close at all.

But, it wasn’t the fault of Jackson. Jackson showed up and showed out for the Pistons in the playoffs when their superstar was down and out.

In the playoffs, Jackson averaged 17.8 points, 7.0 assists, 3.3 rebounds, on 43 percent shooting from the field and 43 percent shooting from deep. The dude showed up and balled out for the city of Detroit, and showed that he very much still has in it him to run an offense when Griffin is not around.

So, did Jackson prove to be a serviceable starting point guard?

Uhm, absolutely.

The real question though did he prove he should be the Pistons starting point guard moving forward for the next few years.

And that question, while I’ve gone from despising Jackson to being a pretty big fan of his, is still up in the air.

Jackson had his best season since the Pistons made the playoffs in 2016. He played in every single game this season, overcoming the two injury-plagued seasons beforehand. He developed a really good outside shot, while also regaining the explosion he once had.

And with all this… The Detroit Pistons still finished with the eighth seed.

Of course, this does not all fall on Jackson. In fact, very little of it actually falls on his on-court play. But, if the Pistons had a better point guard than Jackson do they finish higher than eighth seed?

Maybe with the lower end of the eastern conference being so close, but I’m not sure we’d be a much better team.

The issue with the Pistons was not their point guard, it was their wings, play off the bench, and backup center position. Replacing Jackson with another point guard who may be better than him, does not fix any of those problems.

In order to get a better player than Jackson, let’s say, Mike Conley, you’d not only have to give up Jackson and either a pick or a rotational player, you’d also be paying WAY more to your new point guard then you were paying Jackson.

Which means, the front office would have an even tougher time trying to find a competent wing player or two to make this team legit.

Is Jackson perfect? No. He still struggles on defense, though this past season I witnessed him try harder then I’ve ever seen him try on defense.

He’s gotten better on the offensive side of the floor and has found a way to mesh with the Griffin. He still has an absurd amount of chemistry with Drummond, something the Detroit Pistons missed any time he left the floor for

Ish Smith

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There are better players than Jackson, sure.

But, Reggie Jackson has proved this past season to not only be a serviceable starting point guard for the Pistons but a pretty good one at that.

Now, if we could only not take three months into next season to finally have Jackson run some pick and rolls with Drummond…