After signing Derek Fisher to help bolster their backcourt for the playoff push, the Thunder have assigned Reggie Jackson to the Tulsa 66ers of the D-League, tweets Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman. Jackson, 21, was a first-round draft pick by the Thunder in 2011 out of Boston College. The first-year guard is currently averaging 3.4 PPG and 1.7 APG in limited action.
Despite a rough night for some of its teams, the Northwest Division is the NBA's best division from top to bottom. The 31-9 Thunder trail only the Bulls for the league's best record despite a loss to the Cavs tonight, and the last-place Blazers, at 19-21, are just two games below .500 even though they've been struggling lately. Here's a look around the division:
- Blazers guard Jamal Crawford says if teams who are thinking of trading for him hesitate because they're worried he'll turn down his $5.225MM player option next year, those teams can simply ask him whether he'd like to stay next year, reports Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com. Haynes tweets that he interprets this as Crawford saying he's open to a trade.
- The Thunder could be in the mix for a backup point guard, tweets Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated. The team likes Reggie Jackson, but they're not sure if they want to continue to go with the rookie in that role.
- Nuggets.com writer Aaron J. Lopez sat down for an interview with team president Josh Kroenke, son of owner Stan Kroenke. The younger Kroenke says the team is "still in active talks" with restricted free agent Wilson Chandler, and that they're "working hard on trying to add him." Unlike last year, the Nuggets don't need to make a move at the deadline, Kroenke says, though GM Masai Ujiri will be ready should a deal arise.
February 13th has historically been a busy day for trades, with the most recent blockbuster coming in 2010 — the Mavericks and Wizards finalized a seven-player deal that sent Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood to Dallas. Other notable Valentine's Eve deals? Shawn Marion to Toronto (2009), Damon Stoudamire to Portland (1998), and Mychal Thompson to the Lakers (1987). With a late trade deadline this season, we're not expecting any big deals quite yet, but the day's still young….
- Jerome Solomon of the Houston Chronicle is still on board with the Rockets trying to acquire Pau Gasol.
- While the Thunder might prefer a veteran backup at point guard, there are reasons to believe they'll be fine with Reggie Jackson, says Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman. The rookie has served as Russell Westbrook's backup since Eric Maynor went down for the season with a torn ACL.
- Chris Bernucca of Sheridan Hoops thinks the Lakers should consider signing Gerald Green from the D-League.
- Re-signing Nicolas Batum will be a priority for the Trail Blazers this summer, whether or not Gerald Wallace exercises his player option, writes Derek Page of HoopsWorld.
- Rich Levine of CSNNE.com tries to make sense of Rajon Rondo's season, wondering if trade rumors are affecting Rondo's performance at all.