Josh Jackson joining Pistons
Adrian Wojnarowski: Free agent F Josh Jackson is finalizing a deal with the Detroit Pistons, sources tell ESPN.
Josh Jackson Rumors
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Josh Jackson
Position: -
Born: 02/10/97
Height: 6-8 / 2.03
Weight:203 lbs. / 92.1 kg.
Earnings: $18,191,040 ($18,523,113*)
Born: 02/10/97
Height: 6-8 / 2.03
Weight:203 lbs. / 92.1 kg.
Earnings: $18,191,040 ($18,523,113*)
Rod Beard: The #Pistons’ agreement with Josh Jackson is for two years, I’m told.
This is a complete stab in the dark, but I think Jackson will be back. He seems to genuinely enjoy playing with the Grizzlies. His teammates enjoy playing with him. There’s no better example of this than at the end of Wednesday’s win against the Nets, after Jackson scored a game-high 19 points in 17 minutes off the bench. As he prepared to do a postgame interview with Fox Sports Grizzlies’ sideline host Rob Fischer, Ja Morant approached Jackson from behind, put his arm around him and yelled, “Josh Jackson, you hear me?”
Grizzlies teammates Ja Morant and Dillon Brooks would speak highly of Jackson as well. “I feel like he’s just showing the people that didn’t believe in him exactly what he can do,” said Morant. “There’s no surprise to us. We know exactly what he can do. We’re just going to try and keep him confident. I’ll just play off him sometimes and try to play all-around good games from the first minute to the last.”
“He’s balling,” said Brooks on Jackon. “He’s playing well, he’s playing and he’s not thinking about anything. He’s just going out there and playing his game – being aggressive, playing defense and that’s what we need from him. He’s shooting the ball well, he’s getting to the rim well and he’s taking on the challenge every single game.”
The Grizzlies have never revealed the full extent of the special program they put Jackson through, but executive vice president of basketball operations Zach Kleiman said part of it involved extra shooting sessions at night. Outside of being late for a team meeting that led to a two-game suspension, Jackson did everything that was asked of him, Kleiman said. “Josh had his own program and we wanted to see if he was going to be able to hold up and deal with the rigors of what we’re throwing at him,” Kleiman said. “As we got to know Josh more and more, one, he did literally everything that we asked of him and he did it happily. Josh has bought in and Josh has been excited to grow with the group. He did a great job forming bonds with guys on the Hustle. We’d always hoped that that would get to a point where we would end up calling up Josh to the Grizzlies. We’re happy that he’s with the Grizzlies now.”
Jackson has also been a positive on defense. Memphis is giving up 4.9 fewer points per 100 possessions when he’s on the court. He’s an energetic, athletic defender capable of switching and chasing opposing players. He showed flashes on that end of the court in Phoenix, but he’s beginning to put it together in Memphis. “I feel like I’m quite versatile,” Jackson said. “I can guard multiple positions. I’m not really great at any one thing, but I’m pretty good at about everything, if you know what I mean. Wherever you put me, I’m going to find something I can do, whether that’s rebounding, playing defense, just making an occasional open 3 or passing it. I’m going to figure out some way to impact the game.”
