Reggie Jackson and the Clippers looked like an ideal fit, and after his strong postseason run he is coming back on a multi-year deal.
The lingering big question over the Los Angeles Clippers is the status of Kawhi Leonard, who declined his player option but has not re-signed yet. But one piece of business is done now. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Reggie Jackson has agreed to return to the Clippers on a two-year, $22 million deal.
Under the rules of the collective bargaining agreement, the deal is the max Jackson could have gotten from the Clippers. It’s safe to assume he could have gotten more elsewhere.
Jackson was signed by the Clippers in February of 2020 after being waived by the Detroit Pistons. Last season, his first full campaign with the Clippers, he averaged 10.7 points, 3.1 assists and 2.9 rebounds per game with a 43.3 percent rate from beyond the arc over 67 games (43 starts).
Reggie Jackson turned a postseason run into a multi-year deal
When Leonard went down to injury in the playoffs, Jackson stepped up for the Clippers. For the playoffs as a whole he averaged 17.8 points, 3.4 assists and 3.2 rebounds per game. He shot just over 48 percent from the floor during the postseason, and 40.8 percent from beyond the arc. In the Western Conference Finals against the Phoenix Suns, after Leonard went down in Round 2 against Utah, Jackson averaged 20.3 points per game.
The New Orleans Pelicans, Boston Celtics, New York Knicks and Denver Nuggets were rumored suitors for Jackson, who has a solid track record as a scoring guard even as his production faded over the course of his time with the Pistons. But a return to the Clippers was always considered most likely, as the team considered re-signing him a top priority and Jackson openly showed emotion pointing to how his teammates “saved him” after the playoff run ended.