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Thursday, January 4, 2001
Journeyman Jackson joins his seventh team
Associated Press
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CLEVELAND -- Jim Jackson's name has been linked to the
Cleveland Cavaliers for a couple years. Now it's officially on
their roster.
Jackson returned to his basketball roots Tuesday when he was
acquired by the Cavs in a trade with the Atlanta Hawks for point
guard Brevin Knight.
|  | | Jim Jackson is back home in Ohio, where he was an All-American at Ohio State before turning pro in 1992. |
The banged-up Cavaliers, desperate for backcourt scoring with
center Zydrunas Ilgauskas injured again, also got guards Anthony
Johnson and Larry Robinson from the Hawks for Knight.
"It feels great to be back home," said Jackson, who arrived in
Cleveland midway through the Cavs' 100-95 loss to Houston. "I'm
really looking forward to this. I had heard rumors I was coming but
I wasn't sure if it was going to happen."
Knight became expendable after he lost his starting job to Andre
Miller last season and has played in just six games this season
because of a sore knee.
"Jimmy gives us another scorer at a position where we need to
have a scorer," said Cavs general manager Jim Paxson, who
continued to reshape his team. "He'll come in and play right
away."
In addition, Cleveland waived forward J.R. Reid and guard
Michael Hawkins to help make room for Jackson, who didn't play in
Tuesday night's game against Houston but was expected to join the
Cavs in time for Wednesday's game at Milwaukee.
Jackson, a 6-foot-6 guard, nearly came to the Cavs before the
trading deadline in 1997. He is joining his sixth team and has
averaged 17.4 points a game during his nine NBA seasons. He is from
Toledo and was an All-American at Ohio State before turning pro in
1992.
With the 7-foot-3 Ilgauskas out indefinitely with a broken bone
in his left foot, the Cavs were looking for scoring help. And the
30-year-old Jackson, who can post up smaller guards, should be a
nice fit.
"That's what we were looking for," said Cavs forward Chris
Gatling, who played one year with Jackson in Dallas and was traded
with him to New Jersey in a nine-player deal in 1997. "He's a good
player. He's well-respected in the league and he can score."
Jackson, twice the Big Ten's Player of the Year, was originally
drafted by Dallas in 1992. He has also played for the Nets,
Philadelphia, Golden State and Portland.
"People look at a player getting traded a lot as a negative,"
said Gatling, traded six times himself. "But it's not like he's
going to a team and sitting on the bench. He's a player."
Jackson averaged 14.3 points in 17 games this season for the
Hawks. He has been on the injured list twice and has missed 13
games because of a sprained right knee. Jackson scored a
season-high 34 points against the Los Angeles Clippers on Nov. 10.
"We'll lose a little leadership," Atlanta guard Jason Terry
said. "Larry Robinson's experience and leadership will be missed,
and Jimmy Jackson was our captain. If we lose anything, it's
leadership.
"I'm optimistic about the trade. I think it will make us a
faster, quicker team."
Cavs coach Randy Wittman said Jackson would play both shooting
guard and small forward. Wittman was an assistant coach with Dallas
for one year with Jackson.
"Jimmy has proven that he can score," Wittman said. "He knows
how to score and how to play. He's also a leader. I've always been
a big fan of his."
Jackson is arriving at a time when the Cavs have three players
on the injured list, including backup point guard Bimbo Coles.
"The good thing is that Jimmy has already had his injury,"
quipped Wittman. "He's not going to have another."
The Cavs have been shopping Knight, their point guard for 2½ seasons, for the past year after he lost his starting job to
Miller.
Knight's departure clears out some salary-cap room for the Cavs,
who have traded Shawn Kemp, Bob Sura and contracts totaling nearly
$110 million since the end of last season.
Jackson, who is in the final year of his contract, will make
$2.33 million this season.
"It's a perfect fit," Paxson said, "and if it ends up working
for both sides it could be longer term."
Knight was selected in the first round of the 1997 draft by
Cleveland. He underwent surgery on his right knee in August and has
been bothered by soreness most of this season.
The Hawks had been looking for a point guard after moving Terry
to shooting guard. Matt Maloney had been running Atlanta's offense.
"Matt Maloney has done a very good job for us at the point, but
he can't do it by himself," Hawks general manager Pete Babcock
said.
Atlanta's Lorenzen Wright agreed.
"I think it was a good trade," Wright said. "We hate to lose
those guys. They were guys we liked playing with, but we had to get
people."
Knight is expected to join the Hawks in time for Wednesday
night's game at Philadelphia.
"Atlanta is a team that has a chance to be a good team,"
Knight said. "The time that we really realized it was the first
time we played Atlanta when I was in Cleveland. Not too many guys
were worried about it. The second time we played them, coming off a
win, we knew that they were a team that was dangerous."
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