Report: Stephen Jackson Finally Gets His Wish, Traded To Charlotte

Updates to this story can now be found here.

As ESPN’s Bobcats blog wonders:

Over at the Sporting News, though, Bethlehem Shoals offers a slightly more measured reaction:

According to Yahoo Sports’ Marc Spears, the trade has been completed, as Golden State sends Jackson and Acie Law to Charlotte in exchange for Vladamir Radmonovic and Raja Bell. More to come.

Well, the rumor mill has been robust for the past few weeks—but almost every report has come with a “this probably won’t happen anytime soon” disclaimer. That’s why, for the most part, we’ve ignored the chatter. But today, after a report this morning mentioned the usual suspects (

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ESPN’s Mark Stein checked in late last night with more on the Stephen Jackson rumors, cautioning that while Golden State’s definitely looking to move him, they’re in no rush to do so. But what about all the Cleveland rumors?

So as while we said yesterday a deal would make sense for both sides, it appears one of those sides will have to get just a bit more desperate before we see something get done. And if Cleveland’s reaction in light of last night’s loss is any indication, that may happen sooner rather than later.

This is a very, very speculative report, but then again, that’s how every trade starts out, and with the Warriors actively and openly shopping their former captain, no rumor is totally implausible. ESPN’s Chris Broussard shared this tidbit over at True Hoop:

That trade scenario—Big Z to Golden State, Jackson to Cleveland as an extra ball handler and another perimeter threat—would seem to make sense for both sides. Cleveland’s reluctant to part ways with Big Z, as he’s valuable insurance should Shaq miss extended time with an injury, but at some point, having two lethargic 7 footers becomes redundant, and the benefits of Stephen Jackson negate the cost. Plus, Cleveland’s one of the few places where Jackson publicly said he’d want to play, so you’d have to assume he’d be on his best behavior.

AOL’s Tom Ziller weighed in late last week with a look at the Jackson situation, and offered a reality check:

From there, Ziller outlines six (six!) Warriors players that surpass Jackson in value. In other words, for all the pomp of his trade demands, Jackson’s outsized reputation is far greater than his actual value to Golden State. Nonetheless, he’s still the type of player that can help a good team…

Over at Yahoo! Sports, Marc Spears contrasts Stephen Jackson’s trade demand with another public demand, that of Kobe Bryant. With some particularly great stuff from Ron Artest:

Elsewhere, befitting a plot that’s been crazy from the start, Golden State of Mind applies Walt Whitman to Captain Jack. Perfect.

Out in the Bay Area, Tim Kawakami of the Mercury News has been all over this story from the start, and he wonders whether this latest catastrophe might finally coax Golden State’s dysfunctional ownership to sell the team:

Well, the scenario has arrived, and the ownership is handicapped, as they scurry to paint Jackson as the scapegoat for what’s in fact a function of far more fundamental issues plaguing the organization. Namely, they don’t know what the hell they’re doing, they haven’t for a while, and Jackson’s only the latest example. Here’s to hoping, for the fans’ sake, that this forces them to sell.

Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski weighed in this morning with a look at the mess in Golden State, and found that not all of the blame rests with Jackson:

Indeed, as we said yesterday, “Chaos reigns, and despite appearances, Don Nelson is very much the ring leader.” Between his seeming indifference to the everyday rigors of coaching to his inattention to some of the younger Warriors players, much of what’s gone wrong the past few years can be traced back to Nelson. No one doubts his basketball genius and knack for unconventional strategies, but as the Jackson situation illustrates, his commitment to leadership and managing a team may not be what it once was.

After Stephen Jackson returned to the Warriors yesterday and both sides had a chance to sit down, talk, and assess the situation, naturally, they then spoke to the media about everything. From Marcus Thompson of the Contra-Costa Times comes Nellie’s side of the story, with some excerpts from yesterday’s press conference:

While Tim Kawakami of the Mercury News sums up Jackson’s side of things:

The confrontation has led to Jackson’s suspension, but now it has led to him giving up captaincy of the Warriors, too:

We already had some of the specifics about the confrontation between Stephen Jackson and coach Don Nelson that led to a two game suspension, but Mercury News’ Talking Points has the play-by-play.

Apparently, it wasn’t Jackson yelling at Nelson that got him suspended, but what happened after the coach tried to calm down his player:

Both Jackson and Nelson seem to be wired the same way; slightly unorthodox, authority-averse figures that have managed to beat the odds in attaining success. Don Nelson even made Jackson his captain—spawning the nickname “Captain Jack” and prompting bemused looks from the NBA’s other 29 teams—a few years back, and kept him as one of the team captains even after this summer’s trade demand.

Clearly, the relationship’s seen better times. But with Jackson serving as the toxic lightning rod of dysfunction for an organization that’s quietly been in disarray for the past few seasons, it seems that things might just have reached a tipping point in San Francisco. Nelson’s weathered a lot with Jackson—including playoff ejections, crazy quotes, and openly pining for departed Baron Davis—but this might be too much to ask.

Tim Kawakami of the Mercury News weighs in a long discussion of the Warriors, including steps they can take from here. First and foremost though, the first step is acknowledging that in Jackson, they’ve got themselves a problem:

Meanwhile, Yahoo! Sports’ Marc Spears sheds some more light on the suspension:

First, Marcus Thompson of the Contra Costa Times provided a brief synopsis of what went on in last night’s game:

So, even before the news of the suspension broke late tonight, it was clear that “something was up.” Golden State of Mind weighed in:

One of the more remarkable displays of self-sabotage seen in some time. Vince Carter is the ultimate forebearer for the NBA malcontent looking to force his way off a team, but his tactics were passive aggressive. He demanded a trade, and then proceeded to loaf around the court and fire off-balance fall-away jumpers until the Raptors management either had him killed, or relented and granted him a trade.

Jackson, though, appears to have adopted a much more direct approach. If he plays, he’s going to foul out as soon as possible, and possibly get himself thrown out of the game on technical fouls. Whatever your stance on Captain Jack--I think he’s the NBA’s version of Kanye West--you gotta admit, that’s certainly a proactive way to go about this.