He was a late addition to the pre-season roster, signed to a non-guaranteed training-camp contract in late August, about three weeks before the team took the court. There were those who thought he was just camp fodder, another guy to provide competition and a warm body for practices, scrimmages and the odd exhibition game.
He seems to be throwing a wrench into those expectations.
The six-foot-eight swingman made a big statement for winning a job Wednesday in Boston, playing the final 17 minutes of a stirring comeback that ended in a 125-119 overtime victory. He had 13 points and a couple of rebounds in that stretch when Toronto rallied from a 19-point deficit and it was the kind of in-control, steady production the team is looking for from someone who would likely play sparingly in the regular season.
The 25-year-old Jackson doesn’t do anything flashy but he’s a solid and willing defender who doesn’t take risks or cause issues on the other end of the floor. He also has some shooting skills the team could use.
It’s that kind of package that led the Raptors to take a flyer on him. Jackson’s inability to stick with any of the five teams he has been with since Phoenix took him fourth in the 2017 draft is a bit troubling. He’s had off-the-court issues — minor run-ins with the police on two occasions and a suspension for violating team rules with the G League Memphis Hustle — and that may have been enough to scare off a handful of teams. Raptors officials say privately they are hope his issues are behind him.
…
Many factors will enter into the final decision on who gets the final roster spot. There are still three pre-season games and a handful of practices for the candidates to make their case.
Positional need, health concerns, size, the willingness to play hard every time out: They will all go into the decision ultimately reached by Masai Ujiri, Bobby Webster and Nurse.
But after just two games, Jackson has at least shown that he’s going to be central to the discussion.
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He was a late addition to the pre-season roster, signed to a non-guaranteed training-camp contract in late August, about three weeks before the team took the court. There were those who thought he was just camp fodder, another guy to provide competition and a warm body for practices, scrimmages and the odd exhibition game.
He seems to be throwing a wrench into those expectations.
The six-foot-eight swingman made a big statement for winning a job Wednesday in Boston, playing the final 17 minutes of a stirring comeback that ended in a 125-119 overtime victory. He had 13 points and a couple of rebounds in that stretch when Toronto rallied from a 19-point deficit and it was the kind of in-control, steady production the team is looking for from someone who would likely play sparingly in the regular season.
The 25-year-old Jackson doesn’t do anything flashy but he’s a solid and willing defender who doesn’t take risks or cause issues on the other end of the floor. He also has some shooting skills the team could use.
It’s that kind of package that led the Raptors to take a flyer on him. Jackson’s inability to stick with any of the five teams he has been with since Phoenix took him fourth in the 2017 draft is a bit troubling. He’s had off-the-court issues — minor run-ins with the police on two occasions and a suspension for violating team rules with the G League Memphis Hustle — and that may have been enough to scare off a handful of teams. Raptors officials say privately they are hope his issues are behind him.
…
Many factors will enter into the final decision on who gets the final roster spot. There are still three pre-season games and a handful of practices for the candidates to make their case.
Positional need, health concerns, size, the willingness to play hard every time out: They will all go into the decision ultimately reached by Masai Ujiri, Bobby Webster and Nurse.
But after just two games, Jackson has at least shown that he’s going to be central to the discussion.