Stephen Jackson Wants a New Contract … Again

San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich told Stephen Jackson not to demand a new deal last season, and though Jackson isn’t exactly asking for one — as he is wont to do — Cap’n Jack continues to express a desire to sign an extension. Per the Express-News: “Three days into his first Spurs’ training camp since 2002, Jackson wants the world to remember his new rap album drops at the end of the month. ‘Jack of All Trades’ coming Oct. 30,’ he bellows to anyone within earshot at the team’s practice facility. ‘Be looking out for it. On iTunes and your nearest Best Buy. Go get it.’ Only one thing could make Jackson’s professional life better: An extension of his contract, worth $10 million in its final season. ‘I want it, but I can’t control it,’ Jackson said. ‘Every day when I walk in here I’m hoping they’ll call me in and say, ‘Jack, here’s your extension.’ I think I deserve it, but at the end of the day I’m still happy to be here and all I can worry about is what I can control, and that’s my play.’ He should not be surprised the call hasn’t come. When he returned to the Spurs last season in a mid-March in a trade that sent Richard Jefferson to Golden State, coach and president of basketball operations Gregg Popovich alerted him an extension was not in the offing. Given that the swingman practically forced the Bucks to trade him to the Warriors last season by declaring it ‘mandatory’ they extend his deal, his promise to earn a new contract from the Spurs through his play qualifies as professional enlightenment. Jackson also is content with an off-the-bench role, anxious to see how things shake out on a roster loaded with talented wing players.”