Jax would be quite a Bad Boy, wouldn’t he?
by Sandy Dover / @SandSeven
Inspired by the musings of ESPN stat geek Tom Haberstroh, I felt the need to play around on the NBA Trade Machine to bring about my own version of change for a few NBA franchises that need a bit more help in aiding their own cause to become winners in the League. Particularly, the Detroit Pistons have many assets to use in various deals to enhance other teams’ rosters and their own, so they will be featured prominently in Parts 2 and 3.
The Charlotte Bobcats trade Stephen Jackson and Garrett Temple to the Detroit Pistons for Ben Gordon
One of the biggest problems with the Charlotte Bobcats was that they lacked a player who was certifiably dangerous when given the shots. Technically, Stephen Jackson qualifies, but no one has more bursts of explosive shooting outbursts in the past seven years other than Ben Gordon (and the usual suspects like Dirk Nowitzki, Kobe Bryant and Ray Allen). Considering that Gordon is good for scoring as a starter or as a reserve, he’d fit nicely with the Bobcats, who struggled mightily in the past to produce points, and being duplicated with similarly sized combo guards 
with the Detroit Pistons hasn’t helped his production, either. Though he’s not a true point guard (at least we don’t think so… Chauncey Billups’ slow ascendance into the position continues to cause doubt for other like players), Ben “Jordan” (as he was called with the Chicago Bulls), can play the point in pinches and also play under the watchful eyes of Michael Jordan himself, who had mentored Gordon early in his career.
In Jackson’s case, he’s beloved by the Charlotte organization, but his age is a concern for a group of young guys looking to maintain better health at all positions. In the Pistons’ case, Jax is needed to restore more Bad Boy toughness on a team that was known for whining and stage player walkouts and the like under former head coach John Kuester, who allegedly was a terrible communicator and did even worse when it came to setting rotations. The former 1996 McDonald’s All-American will be able to bring the aggression, attitude and gamesmanship that is most recognized in The Palace at Auburn Hills—oh, and his shooting will be much appreciated as well. Jax will also challenge Rodney Stuckey to fight for his minutes, as the young guard showed promise, but ultimately failed to wow the spectators who looked for Stuckey to become a young star in the League. Trade throw-in Garrett Temple has the ability to fill in at the point guard, shooting guard and small forward positions, and he is willing and able to defend with nary a noise to be heard.
Sandy Dover is a author, fitness enthusiast, and SLAM web columnist and print contributor whose work has been featured and published by US News, Yahoo!, Robert Atwan’s “America Now,“ and now in Buckets and Playmaker magazines. You can find Sandy frequently here at SLAMonline and at Twitter and Facebook as well.
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