Boogie Who?

Aaron Solender
Jul 24, 2017 · 7 min read

Justin Jackson will be the acquisition that makes Kings fans praise Vlade Divac for the DeMarcus Cousins trade.

(Getty Images)

For months and months, and across the span of multiple NBA seasons, Sacremento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins was frequently the focal point of weekly trade rumors. A variety of organizations would continually inquire about Cousins’ availability, as the former Kentucky big man had made a habit of sharing with the media and the sports world as a whole how unsatisfied he was with the short and long-term vision of the Kings organization. Kings GM Vlade Divac took calls from just about every organization in regards to the acquisition of Cousins, and every time would send back an unreasonable request.

Lakers call: “We want Brandon Ingram and multiple 1st round picks”

Suns call: “We want Devin Booker and at least one more starting player”

Nuggets call: “If Nikola Jokic isn’t in the offer, we might as well hang up right now”

Celtics call: “Give us everything that you received in the Nets trade”

Cavs call: “We want Lebron and Kyrie”

Donald Trump call: “We want full access to your Twitter account”

As you can guess, only four out of six of those were established and fact-based reports, but the fact remains that Vlade Divac and the Kings’ front office were unreasonable in their demands over the course of the eighteen or so months that they were shopping Cousins.

Finally, due to Divac’s belief that former Oklahoma superstar and haircut-trend creator Buddy Hield is the next Steph Curry, the Kings sent Cousins along with Israeli sharpshooter Omri Casspi to the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for Hield, Langston Galloway, Tyreke Evans, and both Sacremento’s first and second round picks in the (at the time) upcoming 2017 NBA Draft.

Fast-forwarding through the remainder of the 2017 season, and the trade already looked a lot better for the Kings than it did immediately after. The trade of Cousins was claimed by most in the NBA media and the general basketball-conscious world to be a ‘fleecing’ by the Pelicans.

Without hindsight, this was a very reasonable assumption to make, given that the Kings traded away their franchise centerpiece for some top-spot protected draft picks and an already-old (by NBA standards) shooting guard who was having trouble finding his shot at the professional level. After a sample size of games, the trade looks like it has the potential to work out very well long-term for Sacremento. The Kings were able to unload two negative aspects of Cousins; his bad attitude and extension-requiring contract, while gaining significant assets for the future. In twenty-five minutes per game, Buddy Hield channeled his former Norman, Oklahoma-self, and averaged 15.1 PPG over a twenty-five game clip, while winning Western Conference Rookie of the Month in March. He was also the first Kings rookie to make the NBA All-Rookie 1st Team since….you guessed it…DeMarcus Cousins.

The draft picks that were acquired as part of the Cousins’ trade ended up falling at 10th and 34th overall respectively, allowing the Kings to have significant flexibility, especially when considering they also owned the 5th overall pick through their famous Nik Stauskas trade. With the fifth pick, the Kings took point guard De’Aaron Fox from Kentucky, who when paired with the previously-discussed Hield, should make up one of the more exciting and fun-to-watch young backcourts in the league.

When Vlade Divac found himself on the clock again at 10, he decided to take advantage of the research he did on the Belichickian School of Drafting, and trade with the Portland Trailblazers to move back. The Kings gave up the 10th pick (with which the Blazers took Gonzaga center Zach Collins) in exchange for the 15th and 20th picks. The Kings made both of these picks, and within forty minutes, were making calls to two different schools on Tobacco Road to tell some rivals that they were now going to be teammates. At twenty, the selection was Harry Giles, one of the most promising and injury riddled prospects in a long time, out of Duke. Giles was drafted almost entirely on potential as he only played in 26 games for the Blue Devils, and served in those games in a role off the bench. Giles’ ceiling is said to be as high as Anthony Davis, while his floor has been compared to that of Greg Oden. Pretty solid range right there.

The Kings 2017 NBA Draft haul (Getty Images)

With the 15th overall pick, the Kings went with an incredibly established college playmaker in UNC small forward Justin Jackson. Even as a formerly home-schooled high schooler, Jackson’s name has been known by even the most casual basketball fan for the past half-decade. He is the rare exception of an uber-talented player who’s been on the national radar for an extended period of time, yet, decided to remain in college for three years, leaving only once he’d helped Roy Williams bring another national title home to Chapel Hill. Jackson was a McDonald’s All-American in 2014, and during the annual high school all-star game, was teammates with the likes of Karl-Anthony Towns, Myles Turner, and D’Angelo Russell, all of whom have extended NBA experience at this point.

Following one year at UNC, Jackson was decidedly talented and productive enough to be named as a member of the ACC All-Freshman team. That became just the groundwork and foundation for the accolades that Jackson would later accumulate over the course of his three-year career as a Tar Heel. During his last year as a collegiate athlete, Jackson was named 1st-Team All-ACC and ACC Player of the Year, while also being named the only consensus 1st-Team All-American player in 2017, and oh yeah…a national champion.

The biggest knocks on Jackson leading into the draft process and following the rounds of the draft evaluation process were his lack of natural athleticism and his lanky frame. He’s relatively nonexplosive when compared to a typical 6'8" small forward in the NBA, and while his 201 lb frame wouldn’t be a big deal at 18 or 19 years of age (see: Kevin Durant), it’s reasonable to assume that at 22, he’ll likely always be on the lanky side throughout the course of his professional career. These characteristics, along with the extraordinarily strong pool of underclassman in this years draft (Duke’s Luke Kennard was the first non-freshman to get taken at 12th overall to the Pistons) led Jackson’s slide down draft boards.

Following the conclusion of the NBA Summer League, Jackson’s strengths were significantly more evident than his weaknesses. Similarly to another guy who fell down draft boards due to his perceived lack of athletic ability, Jackson’s on-court IQ and ability to score the basketball in virtually every way you can think of led to the creation of my Justin Jackson scouting report:

Aaron Solender Scouting Incorporated — Justin Jackson, July 2017

In six games at the Las Vegas Summer League tournament, Jackson averaged 16.7 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. While the Kings summer league team may have gone 2–4 in those contests, Jackson finished the last two games with 25 points against Dallas, and 29 points against Phoenix. Versus the Suns, the Kings were able to erase a five-point fourth quarter deficit, primarily due to the scoring effort of Jackson.

In just the first ninety seconds of the above video, Jackson shows his ability to score from all over the floor, displaying an innate ability to use his body driving the lane from both sides, a superb floater, and a silky set-shot from behind the three-point line. Jackson’s on-court intelligence is also on display with his aptness to stay at home on defense, and his capability to play against a number of different sized opponents despite his perceived lack of size.

One of the most important features of the Kings roster that will allow for Jackson to thrive are the moves that they made establishing veteran presences following the 2017 Draft. The additions of PG George Hill, SG Vince Carter, and PF Zach Randolph will give Jackson a bevy of resources to learn from as he continues to build both his NBA frame and skills throughout the course of his rookie season, while the Kings unique situation of having (close-to) zero chance of making the playoffs in the West will enable Jackson to try things out in low-pressure situations.

Malachi Richardson is currently slotted as the Kings’ starting small forward, so should Jackson continue to impress, he shouldn’t have too much trouble supplanting the former Syracuse stud, who has averaged 3.6 PPG on his career, out of the starting line-up.

So, will Justin Jackson end up being the next Kevin Durant? Pretty unlikely. Is there any chance he becomes as important to the Kings as DeMarcus Cousins was? Just maybe. But when paired with the young back-court of Fox and Hield, is it reasonable to say that Jackson could, and should, go on to a stellar-NBA career? Absolutely. Will Jackson be the most important player to join the Kings out of the Boogie Cousins trade?

In this humble bloggers opinion, definitely.

Aaron Solender

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ballcontroloffense.com, writer, editor, wordsmith savant

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