The Sixers have waived Pierre Jackson today, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (via Twitter). This move comes as no surprise after Jackson didn’t show up on the team’s training camp roster yesterday. Philly traded for Jackson in June and then curiously signed him to a partially-guaranteed deal a month later after he ruptured his Achilles tendon in summer league. Jackson starred last season for the D-League’s Idaho Stampede, averaging 29.1 points and 6.2 assists in 41.5 minutes per contest.
As Stein suggests in a separate tweet, it now appears that the $400K that the Sixers guaranteed to Jackson, who will undoubtedly miss the entire upcoming season rehabbing his injury, might have been intended to encourage the Baylor product to rejoin the team next summer. Philly, of course, loses the rights to Jackson by waiving him.
It was actually the Sixers who drafted Jackson out of Baylor in 2013 second round before dealing him to New Orleans. He joined the Pelicans for summer league but went unsigned through the fall before being selected in the D-League draft. Once he emerged as a force for Idaho, New Orleans allowed Jackson to reach out to other teams to see if they’d be interested in trading for his rights. After nothing materialized, he signed with European powerhouse Fenerbahce Ulker before the Sixers acquired his rights in June.
Too bad…..I like him. …He playes with a lot of spirit and energy. And he’s got some talent. I hope no one picks him up. We need to reconcider this move. Players like him & Casper Ware come in and change the game from a lot of angles…..