Was Josh Jackson really a miss for Boston?
Josh Jackson is a high-caliber talent and their is no denying that. But I was recently listening to Paul Pierce talk about this situation on ESPN’s The Jump where he suggested that Jackson has more of a chance to develop in a place like Phoenix as opposed to Boston.
The big thing is this — in Phoenix Jackson could be a potential starter and in Boston he may be a role player on a team that finished first in the Eastern Conference.
So does he have a chance to develop as a starter in Phoenix? Absolutely! However to suggest that he would not develop into an elite talent in Boston sounds almost absurd with their current direction headed by both Danny Ainge and coach Brad Stevens. In the simplest of opinions, I believe Jackson would develop better under the tutelage of the Celtics and eventually into an elite player.
The reason that Danny Ainge and the Celtics passed on Josh Jackson is because Jackson snubbed the Celtics on his workout. Ainge felt that since he had no talks with Jackson and did not get to see him workout that relying on video and word of mouth purely, was not enough to use such a high pick on the young man.
In Danny Ainge’s defense, he pretty much has done pretty well on drafting and trading for players. If Ainge felt as if the kid was not mentally prepared for the Celtics due to the snub then it is of my opinion that Danny Ainge is correct.
The other side of this is simple. Josh Jackson snubbed a team that has a tradition of winning and championships and just finished first in the Eastern Conference. A lot of ups are ahead for the Celtics and yet they were snubbed a work out from an unproved NBA prospect. If Josh Jackson doesn’t want to be apart of the Celtics then in many ways that tells me he is not concerned with winning basketball games right now. Instead he is more concerned with getting his and we see how that has resulted for some recent greats like Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson.
Josh Jackson is headed to Phoenix to play for the Suns but the truth of the matter is that we should be seeing his 6'8" frame compete in the playoffs next season and go head to head with an elite talent like LeBron James. Not that Jackson is on that level in any way, but he should at least be facing him that quickly and now he is not.
Maybe that is just it though, maybe he is afraid of LeBron and is just unwilling to admit such a thing.
