Be careful what you wish for, Stephen Jackson. Sometimes wishes do come true. Captain Jack got shipped to Charlotte for the equivalent of return bus fare.
Stephen Jackson had been demanding a trade since before the season started. His falling out with Don Nelson was well publicized in the days leading up to the season. Nelson even suspended him for 2 days for “conduct detrimental to the team.”
Despite leading the Golden State Warriors in points, assists, steals, threes and undoubtedly field goal attempts last year, the 10 year veteran got his wish and was drop-shipped to the Charlotte Bobcats (along with the disappointing Acie Law IV) for veteran shooting guard Raja Bell and forward Vladimir Radmanovic. The Bobcats are one of the worst offenses teams in the league and run the “slow it down,” Larry Brown offense that will challenge Jackson’s itchy trigger finger.
The trade looks like both teams had no other options and decided to move some cap space around. Golden State is giving away by far the most complete — albeit incredibly selfish — player in Jackson only to get guys that have no long-term future or upside. You could argue that this is the right thing for these organizations to do for this year: Jackson give a much-needed scoring presence to a flailing Bobcat offense; the Warriors get “addition by subtraction” removing a locker room cancer and freeing up space on their untested but talented roster. But you can bet by next season that none of the players in this trade will have any impact on either team.
