Having missed the team’s last five games, Pistons point guard Reggie Jackson isn’t expected to return to the court before the end of the regular season, head coach Stan Van Gundy confirmed today. According to Rod Beard of The Detroit News (Twitter link), Van Gundy said injuries to other Pistons could change his plan, but he doesn’t expect to play Jackson again this season.
It has been a rough year for Jackson, whose knee issues delayed his 2016/17 debut and have nagged at him all season. Coming off a career year in which he established new career-highs in PPG (18.8) and APG (6.2), the former Thunder point guard has seen his numbers slip across the board this season. He has posted 14.5 PPG, 5.2 APG, and a .419 FG% for the Pistons in 52 games (50 starts).
Jackson’s name was also mentioned several times in trade rumors during the days and weeks leading up to the deadline, with one Ricky Rubio-related rumor gaining enough traction that Van Gundy was forced to publicly shoot it down.
After this season, Jackson will still have three years remaining on his contract, with his salary set to increase to $16MM for 2017/18. That figure will continue to rise to $17MM+ and $18MM+ respectively in the final two years of his deal, so it will be interesting to see whether the Pistons make an effort to part ways with the former first-round pick this summer, or if they hope he can get healthy and bounce back next season.
With Jackson expected to miss the rest of the season, Ish Smith will continue to start at point guard for Detroit, with Beno Udrih backing him up.