Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman reports:
Around these parts the Thunder’s mysterious pre-draft dealings with 24th overall pick Reggie Jackson stands as one of the most fascinating occurrences in the franchise’s short history.
Already owning a reputation for his draft night wheeling and dealings and seemingly a yearly propensity to pluck a sleeper pick, Thunder general manager Sam Presti added another dimension to his unpredictable draft strategy when he allegedly promised Jackson he’d be a Thunder if he was still around at 24…
The part where conspiracy theorists feast is when Jackson shut down all private workouts and interviews shortly after a workout in Oklahoma City. Jackson pulled the plug on his other stops because of a knee injury, leading many to think it was simply a smokescreen. But Jackson swears it was legitimate.
“After a workout for Oklahoma City, I came back and played pickup at my school,” Jackson said. “My knee, normally I could feel it tweaking, but it always got better. But it got worse. I went to the doctor and found out I couldn’t go for about a month. I was supposed to come back. I tried to and I just couldn’t compete, so I had to shut it down. That’s about it. I was supposed to have workouts for other teams, but I honestly couldn’t go. And that was that.”
Jackson had tendinitis in his knee, something he says he played with since his sophomore season at Boston College. He just always played through the pain.
