Milwaukee Bucks Should Give Stephen Jackson a Contract Extension (Plus Game 8 Preview)

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Remember the hazy, halcyon summer days when the Bucks brimmed with optimism after trading away Maggette and Salmons for Stephen Jackson and Shaun Livingston?

Then Stephen came to town for a post-trade presser and said that an extension was ‘mandatory‘.

(AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

Well, it’s time to make good on that commitment. What’s the going rate for a overutilized, underproductive shooting guard in the seasons in which he’ll be 36 and 37 years old? I’m thinking, say, two years for $6 million. Would that do the trick?

Jackson is owed nearly $20 million over this season and next, so you might be thinking that this is all crazy talk, especially given Jack’s career portfolio in Milwaukee:

7 games
31% FG shooting
4.1 turnovers per game
3.1 assists per game
the highest usage rate on the team (i.e., when on the floor, he ends more possessions with a shot or turnover than any of his teammates)

But think about the implications. Either the Bucks get a reasonable deal on a player on a veteran player who can’t play any worse than he is currently playing, OR (and this is where the fun starts), he predictably storms off in a tirade, refusing to take the court after an insulting offer and demanding to be cut or traded. The Bucks fill his spot in the lineup with a younger, more productive player who doesn’t stop the ball in critical moments.

Do the Bucks lose in either scenario?

Alas, this is all in jest, and the Bucks need Jackson if they’re going to succeed now. But like Bobcats, Warriors, and Pacers before them, the Bucks would love nothing better than to sponge up the good parts of Jack’s game and toss out the bad ones.

Unfortunately, that’s not how the Stephen Jackson Experience operates.

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Game 8 Preview: Milwaukee Bucks (2-5) @ Phoenix Suns (3-4) 8 PM CT

Offensive Efficiency:
Milwaukee: 97.5 (27th)
Phoenix: 102.1 (16th)

Defensive Efficiency:
Milwaukee: 98.0 (6th)
Phoenix: 100.4 (9th)

Pace:
Milwaukee: 93.8 (6th)
Phoenix: 90.9 (21st)

Projected Lineups:
Suns: Steve Nash, Jared Dudley, Grant Hill, Channing Frye, Marcin Gortat
Bucks: Brandon Jennings, Stephen Jackson, Carlos Delfino, Ersan Ilyasova, Drew Gooden

Bucks Injuries/Absences:

Out: Bogut, Dunleavy
Day-to-Day: Mbah a Moute (knee), Udrih (shoulder)
Probable: Brockman (left eye contusion)

Notes:
Marcin Gortat will play despite a non-displace thumb fracture.
Former Buck Michael Redd was inactive for the last Suns game.