By signing former Milwaukee Bucks guard Andre Jackson Jr. to a deal, Toronto is running back a very specific, highly successful playbook: Bucks fans saw this exact movie play out not too long ago with Sandro Mamukelashvili, who was yet another second-rounder the Bucks gave up on way too easily.
Mamukelashvili's Toronto season was his best NBA season statistically. He put up career highs of 11.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.9 assists before he was ultimately signed by the Los Angeles Lakers this offseason. Jackson, meanwhile, is joining Toronto after three seasons in Milwaukee.
Toronto has shown time and time again that it can find a role for these versatile, wing-sized, defense-first play connectors. Jackson is walking into an organization that may value his skill set more than Milwaukee did. Bucks fans may be watching history repeat itself.
Andre Jackson Jr going to the Raptors is going to repeat history
Let's not mince words. We all saw how last year panned out for Jackson. His defense, once his defining trait as the team's best on-ball stopper, gave way to long stretches of offensive inconsistency. And in the coaching staff's assessment, his lack of a consistent jumper was simply too much for his defense to offset.
When Mamukelashvili slipped through the cracks after his time in Milwaukee, the Raptors were the second team to scoop him up and give him an environment to actually breathe. And just like the San Antonio Spurs, they watched him flourish.
Jackson was supposed to be the playmaking defensive connector with a questionable jumper coming out of UConn. For a time, he was exactly that. Some argued he was the best defender on the team. He had his moments. Who could forget his time as the Shai Gilgeous-Alexander stopper, for example? But ultimately, that skill set hasn't translated cleanly enough in Milwaukee. The Raptors can potentially ask him to do exactly the things he's good at rather than forcing him into a conventional wing role.
If history is any indication, the Raptors' player development machine knows how to unlock these exact archetypes and turn them into high-IQ, do-it-all pieces, even despite some supposed limitations. For Mamukelashvili, it was his lack of burst. For Jackson Jr., it will be his shooting mechanics. Those problems were there, and they were real. But they were not insurmountable.
Milwaukee let another versatile, high-upside role player slip through their fingers. If Jackson follows the same trajectory, don't be surprised when he’s cashing in a massive multi-year ticket of his own a couple of summers from now.
Andre Jackson Jr.'s Bucks future could have been totally different
This writer has admittedly been the biggest Andre Jackson Jr. guy since the former UConn Husky first arrived in the 414. There's a decent argument to be made that his issues would have been fixable under the tutelage of Taylor Jenkins and his staff. Because it has to be said that Doc Rivers has some fault for giving Jackson the shortest leash without putting him in positions to succeed.
Here's hoping the Bucks don't make the same mistake with their crop of young Bucks now as they enter this rebuild.
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