Reggie Jackson and the starting issue

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We learned three important things yesterday at media day: 1) Steven Adams looks amazing with a mustache; 2) Serge Ibaka doesn’t know who Mitch McGary is; and 3) Reggie Jackson wants to start. Badly.

It’s unlikely Jackson wins the starting spot this season with the Thunder. He’s a point guard by nature, and so is Russell Westbrook. Playing them together works really well — OKC scored 116.8 points per 100 possessions and allowed 99.0 in 395 minutes with Jackson and Westbrook together — but in terms of starting, that’s a different thing. When Scott Brooks has played Jackson and Westbrook together in the past, it was by virtue of what that individual game’s matchups were dictating. It was an adjustment Brooks could use, a curveball to knock opponents off balance.

Starting them just lays it out there from tipoff. It takes away Jackson’s ability to find a little of his own rhythm running the second unit show, reduces the overall depth of the roster and clogs the floor a bit for both Westbrook, Durant and Ibaka. Jackson is a player that operates with the ball, not typically off it, so in fitting alongside the Thunder’s starting five, he really doesn’t make a ton of sense.

A couple seasons ago, Thabo Sefolosha went down injured for a spell and Brooks inserted James Harden in his place. It went poorly. In a blowout loss to the Clippers, Harden went 2-10 for seven points in 42 minutes. Brooks pulled the plug and went with Daequan Cook for the next 22 games. Now, maybe Brooks prematurely aborted Harden starting, never letting him develop a chemistry with that unit. But it was painfully obvious watching that game that the chemistry and rhythm of the team was completely upset with Harden’s role switch.

The standard line of thinking since middle school has always been your best five players start. But Brooks has always resisted that, leaning more on your best five players finish. Thabo Sefolosha was never better than Harden. That’s not why he started. Gregg Popovich thinks similarly, which is why Manu Ginobili has come off the bench predominately. Still, Ginobili and the Spurs are a different breed, able to place a clear understanding of team firmly above all else. Not that I blame players that don’t. They have careers to mind. It’s just the Spurs have uniquely always kept a clear perspective.

Jackson’s reasons for starting are clear. He wants to be great, and doesn’t see it possible to be remembered alongside the likes of the titans of the NBA if he’s merely a bit part bench player. Fair enough. He said this yesterday:

“I want to play against the best, I want to play against Chris Paul, I want to play against Kyrie Irving, I want to be mentioned on the highest of levels,” he said.

A counter to that is that well, you know, you still get to play against those guys. It’s not like just because you’re coming off the bench means that you only play against opposing bench players. There are backup point guards out there that do that, that play 12 minutes a game to merely just spell the guy in front of him. Jackson’s not that kind of player. He routinely plays 30 or more, even with a healthy Westbrook.

What I think Jackson meant by that is that he wants THE matchup to be him against Chris Paul or him against Kyrie Irving. Right now the marquee matchup is Westbrook against those guys. Jackson wants that spotlight, that challenge. Again, fair enough.

The question is if starting and his future with the Thunder are mutually exclusive. When talking about his contract situation, Jackson said the right things, that he loves Oklahoma City, that he prefers to stay, that he hopes something gets worked out. He only changed his tune when talking about his role. It may be as simple as it’s a self-motivation tactic for Jackson. Like he wakes up every morning, looks in the mirror and tells himself he’s good enough, he’s smart enough and doggone it, he should be a starter.

The Thunder hold the cards here. Jackson is in an incredibly supportive environment and straying outside the lines isn’t going to fly. The culture policed by Durant, Westbrook, Collison and Perkins is going to make sure Jackson doesn’t place individual priorities over the team. Or at least you’d hope so. If Jackson doesn’t get his deal before Oct. 31, he’ll head to restricted free agency where the Thunder can match, or not, any offer. They’re the ones with leverage here.

Starting comes with status, but it really doesn’t mean much. Did you know: Khris Middleton started 64 games last season. Keith Bogans has started 333 times in his career. Hell, Thabo Sefolosha just spent six seasons starting almost 400 times for the Thunder. Starting means you get your name called first and guarantees you nightly minutes, but it also is just a label. It’s not truly indicative of your ability or chance to be great. John Havlicek was great. Kevin McHale was great. Bill Walton was great. Michael Cooper was great. Manu Ginobili is still great. But they aren’t Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson or Larry Bird. And that’s the category Jackson wants his name in.

Jackson has ultimate confidence in his game, which is wonderful, but sometimes you need a reality check. In his 36 starts last season filling in for Westbrook he was very solid, but he wasn’t Westbrook. Or even close. He’s not likely headed for a max-level offer and at his very best is probably more in the realm of Jeff Teague, Kemba Walker and Brandon Knight. Good players! But not Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook and Kyrie Irving. Listening to Jackson reminds me of what Nick Collison wrote for GQ about embracing a role a couple seasons ago:

The hard part is being able to have the focus to do it over and over again, knowing you aren’t going to get a lot of credit. Doing a great job of talking on defense won’t get you any high-paying endorsement deals. Nobody is making a YouTube mix of all your badass screens with a Rick Ross track playing over it. (I’m not saying I would complain if someone did this for me.)

A lot of guys can’t or won’t do these things because they don’t see the value in it. Some people look at it as sacrificing your own game for the greater good. This is true to an extent, but you don’t just play this way because you are a nice guy and you are willing to let other guys shine. You do it because you want to win, to be a part of a championship team, and you do it because you want to create value for yourself. If you are a bench guy and you start to take more shots, to take your scoring average from six points a game up to eight points a game, not many people are going to notice. You are doing the same things, just in a more inefficient way.

Obviously Jackson is a different kind of role player than Collison, but the greater point remains. Jackson is at a bit of a crossroads in trying to decide which player he is. We know which one he wants to be, and which one he thinks he can be, but every other young player thought the same things. Nick Collison probably had visions of All-Star Games and the Hall of Fame when the Sonics took him 12th overall. But he had to adjust, understand and adapt.

There are good reasons to start. For one, traditionally you get paid more. For example, the Thunder have tried to spin their offer to Harden as being the biggest ever for a sixth man. Which sounds really good. But it also kind of sounds insulting, because that just means you’re placing him in a different NBA class.

And that’s really the heart of this. Jackson doesn’t want to start. He wants to star. He wants to run his own team, be the best player on the floor and have the focus on him. Harden wanted the same thing. The question is if Jackson has a pecking order of priorities and can let that burning desire take a backseat to being on a potentially great team. What’s better: Being the best player for the 26-56 Bucks, or playing a critical role on a team headed to the NBA Finals? Seems like an easy answer, but Jackson’s perspective is if he has his chance, the Bucks would be that team headed to the Finals.