Where Does Stephen Jackson Stand With The Milwaukee Bucks?
Milwaukee – Milwaukee Bucks guard Stephen Jackson has got into a little bit of trouble this season with his coaches and the league which has resulted in him being benched for several different games.
Jackson began the season as the starting shooting guard but after missing the bus for the morning shootaround before a game against the New York Knicks, head coach Scott Skiles elected to bench him. Shaun Livingston replaced him in the lineup and has started every game since. The Bucks went on to defeat the Knicks and the Miami Heat the very next day.
In the three and a half weeks since the Bucks played the Knicks, Jackson has been benched for five of the games while averaging 25.6 minutes and 8.0 points per game in the other five. Jackson is not sure why he has played zero minutes in the last two games and has stated that he has talked to the coaches about wanting to play more.
“I’m supporting my teammates the way that I’ve always been,” Jackson said. “I’m going to respect the coaches, I’m going to respect everybody around. But at the end of the day, everybody knows I want to play. That’s not a secret.”
Milwaukee acquired Jackson in a three-team trade with the Sacramento Kings and Charlotte Bobcats on last year’s draft day. The Bucks received Jackson, Shaun Livingston, Beno Udrih and the rights to the Bobcats 19th overall pick Tobias Harris. In return, Charlotte received the rights to seventh pick Bismack Biyombo and forward Corey Maggette. The Kings got guard John Salmons and the rights to Jimmer Fredette, Milwaukee’s 10th overall pick.
The Bucks desperately needed to improve their offense and Jackson seemed like an obvious solution given his ability to score points. He seemed mostly happy to be in Milwaukee, despite the rumors of him trying to negotiate a better contract before the season started, and he seemed thrilled to team up with point guard Brandon Jennings.
Jennings was also excited to play with a talented player but has admitted recently that he is unsure where the coaches stand on the current situation.
“I felt like he should have played against Chicago,” Jennings said. “The fact that we were struggling, I was in foul trouble, maybe he could have gave us a spark. Just his presence probably could have changed the game. You never know.”
Jennings is “a little disappointed” Skiles has not elected to play Jackson more in recent games but he is nonetheless proud of how Stephen is handling himself.
“The main thing is just to see what the coaches do,” Jennings said. “It’s the coaches’ decision at the end of the day. But he’s been going hard and at the end of the day he’s still a big part of the team, no matter what.”
The Bucks coaches respect Jackson for his commitment to the team and supporting his teammates in a professional manner over the last ten games.
“Steve’s been great,” assistant coach Jim Boylan said. “He was outstanding [Monday] in practice, his attitude’s been positive. So he doesn’t need to do anything more for me, I know that. Since all of this has gone on, he’s handled himself well. So I have no complaints.”
“Look, I don’t want anybody, especially somebody like ‘Jack,’ to be happy about not playing in a game,” Skiles said last week Wednesday before the game against Miami “I have too much respect for him. I’ve been in that position myself, I totally understand it. But Jack’s going to be a professional about it, and he’s going to keep working hard, and when he gets his chance, he’ll get into the game and help us. I’m fully confident of that.”
Skiles has not commented on the situation since last week and considering Jackson has only played a little over nine minutes over the past three games, Milwaukee fans are beginning to wonder what exactly is happening.
When asked if he had requested a trade Jackson denied comment.
“Of course it’s frustrating, because I want to be out there to help my teammates,” Jackson said. “I never want to leave a guy out there to battle by himself. But at the end of the day, I only can worry about what I can control.”
As of right now Jackson is just going to have to work hard in practice and prepare himself so he can help the team win when he is given his opportunity to play.
Milwaukee is currently eighth in the Eastern Conference with a 10-13 record. They are the only team in the NBA this season to play Miami twice and come out victorious both times.
In 18 games this season, Jackson is averaging 12.1 points, 3.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.3 steals while shooting 36.2 percent from the field.
