Three Detroit Pistons who could see decreased roles in 2019-2020

Reggie Jackson

Reggie Jackson has given many Pistons fans their share of frustrations. As a result, trade rumors have surrounded Jackson for the better part of a year, if not longer. However, similarly to Griffin, lessening Jackson’s role should not necessarily be seen as a negative issue.

Last year, Jackson played in all 82 games, which is a risky usage rate for a player who has had a career splattered with various injuries. Between Ish Smith’s injuries and Jose Calderon as the only viable backup beyond Smith, resting Jackson was likely not an option.

In a contract year, Jackson will be trying to up his market value, which may reflect in a demand for playing time. However, Jackson is a trade asset to the Pistons, and they may be looking to move the ten year veteran point guard before the trade deadline. Jackson’s value is only high if he’s healthy, and with Derrick Rose and a competent third-option point guard in newly-acquired Tim Frazier, strategically load-managing Jackson is not a risk to success (especially against weaker opponents).

Without a clear direction for the future, and given the brief history of the new front office, I would imagine a move to find a new, younger point guard is on someone’s to-do list (although a potential target, I don’t expect rookie point guard Jordan Bone to be ready by next year). It’s hard to imagine this happening without moving Jackson.

If Jackson somehow survives the trade deadline, I expect him to fall into a 70-75 games played range. If he’s traded, up to his trade date, I expect him to be in that 85-90% of games played range.