Knicks, Nets both eye UK big Jackson
The Nets and Knicks are different boroughs, different styles and different stages in their development. But they both are eyeing the same Kentucky star, and Isaiah Jackson is convinced he could fit — and excel — for either team.
With the 2021 NBA Draft fast approaching Thursday at Barclays Center, he could get a chance to prove it.
Jackson has worked out for both teams and been invited to the Green Room on draft night, expected to be one of the top-20 picks. He’s projected to go No. 19 to the Knicks by mock draft site Tankathon. The Knicks also pick 21st and the Nets have the 27th selection.
The 6-foot-10 ¹/2, 206-pound Jackson is still raw after just one year in Lexington, but the 19-year-old is convinced he can still help the win-now Nets. His defensive dirty work could unburden 30-something veterans Kevin Durant and Blake Griffin in the front court.
“In the workout, we did a number of things. They wanted me to go there and show what I could do,” Jackson said. “Everybody from the front office was there, but I met with [head coach] Steve Nash. We talked, I had a great workout, too, so it was a plus.
“The feedback there was good. I think they really want me. I feel like I can bring it all, especially in the playoffs where they had KD playing the five, I feel like I could fit that role, just put KD at the four and let him do his thing. And I feel like some of the older guys like
Blake Griffin, I could fill that role too as well, just helping him, keeping him from not having to play as many minutes as he’s been playing.”
Jackson has been projected to go as high as No. 12 to the Spurs (by CBS Sports), and in addition to San Antonio, he has worked out for the Hawks, Hornets, Kings, Pacers, Rockets and Thunder.
Jackson averaged 8.4 points and 6.6 rebounds in his one year with Kentucky, rising to 13.3 and 6.9 over his last seven games. He was inspired to take up the sport by watching Kevin Garnett’s ferocious style, and it’s his rebounding, shot-blocking and most of all switchable defense that fit perfectly in Brooklyn. He’s like an even younger Nic Claxton.
Even though the Knicks play a different style, with traditional centers like Mitchell Robinson and Nerlens Noel alongside a Julius Randle-led assembly line of bruising power forwards, Jackson said he could also mesh on that young roster.
“I feel like I could fit in real well,” Jackson said. “I don’t think they’re gonna have me playing like a traditional big, but I feel like I could fit that role if you want to go small ball. I could play the five and guard anybody and also stretch the floor, if needed. I feel like it’d be real fun playing with those guys as well, too.”
Naturally, it helps that the Knicks have a sizeable Kentucky connection, with executive VP William Wesley, assistant coach Kenny Payne and four ex-Wildcats — Randle, Noel, Immanuel Quickley and Kevin Knox — on the roster. They even had Michael Kidd-Gilchrist briefly last year.
“Yeah of course, they’ve got a lot of Kentucky guys, so I feel like I’d fit in real well. I had a great workout there, too,” Jackson said. “I really, really enjoyed the competitiveness we had during the workout. I liked the facility, I like the city, so it was good, all-in-all.”