Farewell to Jarrett Jack

[Kbiz]

Tim Bontemps
Jarrett Jack says he's "tremendously excited" to be back on a playoff team after spending last year with Cleveland.

Jack who?

 

[TyGuy]

It is really strange that all these years we were so careful with preserving cap space just for this moment only to sign this guy who was essentially an anchor.

He played so badly he couldn't be given away and his contract that we only gave out last year totally undermined everything we were trying to do.

 

[aaronr]

It is really strange that all these years we were so careful with preserving cap space just for this moment only to sign this guy who was essentially an anchor.

He played so badly he couldn't be given away and his contract that we only gave out last year totally undermined everything we were trying to do.

I'm no Jack fan, believe me, but he wasn't THAT bad last year. He slipped from his performance the year before, particularly offensively (never worth a damn defensively at any time during career), but he had some good and winning games. I think the problem was Grant, rather than Jack. Did he really think Jack, a ball-dominant guard, would be a good mix with Irving and Waiters?

 

[Mr. MacPhisto]

I'm no Jack fan, believe me, but he wasn't THAT bad last year. He slipped from his performance the year before, particularly offensively (never worth a damn defensively at any time during career), but he had some good and winning games. I think the problem was Grant, rather than Jack. Did he really think Jack, a ball-dominant guard, would be a good mix with Irving and Waiters?

It was a bad fit, hoping he would work well with Waiters and Kyrie. I think the signing, in some sense, had more to do with Jack being a serious candidate for the Sixth Man award. He was a name that could be promoted with some talent. They'd figure out how to make it work.

He was far from terrible and I think his numbers go back up in the right situation. But he's a poor fit here going forward, whether James comes or not.

Even if they don't get LeBron, $24M in cap space can get you a lot of upgrades.

 

[Big Finish]

Jarret Jack Shattering Expectations in Brooklyn

The career-backup was coming off of the worst season of his nine-year voyage in the pros. His old team was giving him away for the sole reason that cap space needed to be created for the return of LeBron James. They wanted to do it so badly, so quickly they threw in Sergey Karasev.

Jack was expected to serve exclusively as Deron Williams’ backup in Brooklyn, his role not expanding to much more than spelling No. 8 when necessary. But basketball is weird. And nearly halfway through the 2014-15 season, Jack has been as good as his head is shiny—very.

The 31-year-old floor general has started the team’s last nine contests, averaging 15.3 points, 5.4 assists, 3.7 boards and 1.3 steals along the way. Most importantly, Jack has led the Nets to a 6-3 record during that span.

Monday, Jack became the first Nets point guard to put up 20 points and 10 assists since Williams did so against the Chicago Bulls in the 2013 playoffs two years ago.

He’s not perfect by any means. One persistent criticism is that he's better at setting up himself than his teammates. And he over-dribbles, takes unorthodox shots, etc, But this isn’t the Jack from Cleveland. It’s not the erratic if productive Jack from the Hornets or Warriors, either.

This is a guy who’s rebirthed his game and his career and Brooklyn.