Oklahoma City Thunder player who turned down a huge contract offer is requesting a trade - and it's getting awkward
Jackson is 24 years old and will be restricted free agency this summer. The Thunder could match any offer he gets to keep him on the team, but according to Adrian Wojnarowski, Jackson would be resistant to returning to Oklahoma City if the Thunder matched a deal for him.
Jackson wants to be a starting point guard for a team - something that won't happen with Russell Westbrook on the Thunder - and reportedly turned down a giant four-year, $48 million offer from the Thunder at the start of the season. Such a deal would've made him one of the highest paid point guards in the league.
According to Wojnarowski, Jackson's agent requested a trade from the Thunder about a week ago. If Oklahoma City doesn't trade him, they risk losing him for nothing in free agency, or they could match him and have a malcontent player on the bench.
When asked about the trade by Daily Thunder's Royce Young, Jackson's response was incredibly awkward. Jackson said he hadn't heard anything about the report or a trade request. When Young asked him if he would talk to his manager, Jackson said, "Nah, we would communicate." But the most awkward part came when Jackson answered "I would love to play basketball," to two questions in a row:
Do you want to be here tomorrow?
"I would love to play basketball."
Do you want to be here in Oklahoma City playing for the Thunder?
"I would love to play basketball."
Jackson tries to side-step admitting he wants a trade, but it seems obvious that if his agent requested one, then Jackson had to have asked for it.
Jackson's future with the Thunder has been in limbo for more than a month now. In January, the Thunder completed a trade with the Cavs for backup guard Dion Waiters. Like Jackson, Waiters is a ball-dominant, scoring guard, and when he arrived, Jackson's playing time immediately decreased. Many people assumed that the trade was insurance in case Jackson got traded or left in free agency.
Jackson hasn't had a great season, which makes handling his future more difficult. Teams may be hesitant to trade for him and give up assets when they could offer him a contract this season. However, his play hurts his market value, and he likely would have trouble getting an offer in the $48 million range again.