Josh Jackson went one spot higher than Kings rising star point guard De'Aaron Fox in the 2017 NBA Draft. Two years later, could Sacramento try to make a trade with the Suns to acquire the small forward?
"I think the Knicks would have interest in him. I think Sacramento would have interest in him," Arizona radio host John Gambadoro said Monday on KMVP-FM 98.7 in Phoenix, via the Sacramento Bee.
Jackson, 22, was arrested in Miami over the weekend at the Rolling Loud music festival. He faces a felony charge of escape and a misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest, ESPN reported Tuesday from online court records.
"Now, you put into play what happened over the weekend ... There is no questioning this kid's talent. He is talented, but talent is not enough," Gambadoro said. "He's not a smart person. He's not a smart player."
Jackson also faced a misdemeanor vandalism charge after allegedly damaging his ex-girlfriend's car outside a bar while he was attending Kansas University in 2017.
The Suns took Jackson with the No. 4 pick in the draft two years ago. Since then, he's been far from impressive. Through two seasons, he's averaged 12.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game while shooting 41.5 percent from the field and just 29.4 percent from 3-point range.
It's clear the Kings have a glaring need at the small forward position, though, and Jackson's trade value could be quite cheap. General manager Vlade Divac addressed the position last season by trading for Harrison Barnes as a part of Sacramento's playoff push, but Barnes has a $25 million player option for the 2019-20 season and could opt out to explore free agency.
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Prior to the 2017 draft, Jackson met with the Kings in Sacramento. There have been no indications that they are now interested in him again two years later, but he could at the very least add depth to a thin group.
Jackson's off-court issues and on-court inconsistency could take Jackson out of consideration for the Kings. The closer we get to 2019 NBA Draft on June 20, however, he could become an intriguing trade chip for the Kings and other teams.
