The Golden State Warriors have signed guard/forward Stephen Jackson to a contract extension, the team announced today. Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not announced. InsideHoops.com will post contract details in the next few hours, so reload this page later today.
“We’re excited to have Stephen under contract for the next several years,” said Warriors President Robert Rowell. “He has been nothing short of terrific – both on the floor and in the community – since we acquired him almost two years ago. He has embraced this opportunity with the Warriors and has become a leader of a very young basketball team. Furthermore, he expressed a desire to be here long-term and we wanted him to be a part of our team as we move forward. We view this as a win-win for everyone.”
Jackson, 30, is averaging 22.1 points (12th in NBA), 6.4 assists (11th in NBA), 3.9 rebounds and 43.4 minutes (1st in NBA) per contest in 10 games thus far this season. His performance this season is building upon his finest NBA campaign in 2007-08, in which he appeared in 73 games and established new career-highs in points (20.1 ppg), assists (4.1 apg), three-point field goals (182), three-point percentage (.363), free throw percentage (.832) and minutes per game (39.1 mpg) to go along with 4.4 rebounds and 1.26 steals per contest. He scored 20-or-more points 42 times and helped lead the Warriors to a 46-27 (.630) record in the 73 games in which he appeared.
“I’m extremely happy,” said Jackson. “The Bay Area has become my second home since I arrived here in 2007 and I can’t accurately describe how good it feels to be wanted and appreciated by an organization. The Warriors – from Chris Cohan, Robert Rowell, Chris Mullin and Coach Nelson to the last person working in the front office – have embraced me since Day One. This organization has put me in a position to succeed and, for that, I will be forever grateful. I am really looking forward to the next several years, helping this young team win and providing my veteran leadership.”
Since being acquired by Golden State from Indiana on January, 17, 2007, Jackson has appeared in 121 regular-season games with the Warriors, averaging 19.1 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.29 steals in 37.9 minutes per game. Over that stretch, the Warriors have posted a 73-48 (.603) record in the 121 games in which he has appeared. Immediately following Jackson’s arrival in 2006-07, the Warriors posted a 23-15 (.604) record in the 38 games in which he played that season, including a 16-5 mark over the final 21 games of the season — which matched the best 21-game finish to a season in NBA history by a team that eventually ended up as the #8 playoff seed.
Currently in his ninth NBA season, Jackson owns career averages of 15.0 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.32 steals and 31.9 minutes in 550 regular-season games over eight seasons with New Jersey, San Antonio, Atlanta, Indiana and Golden State.
A native of Port Arthur, Texas, Jackson was named the 2007-08 recipient of the Angela & Christopher Cohan Community Service Award, given annually to the Warriors player who best exemplifies the spirit of community service through their outstanding commitment of time, service and financial support to the children and families of the Bay Area. Additionally, he received the NBA Community Assist Award for the month of March, 2008. This past summer, Jackson launched the “Jack 1 Foundation,” a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide community initiatives focusing on youth development and empowerment regardless of economic status. As part of the foundation launch this past summer, he held a grand re-opening ceremony of the Stephen Jackson Academy of Art, Science and Technology in Port Arthur.
One day later, the buzz was still flying around Warriors rookie guard Anthony Morrow. A television interview on the Sunday evening local news. Sports magazines working on feature stories about him. Fans still talking about his first NBA career start: a 37-point, 11-rebound performance in Saturday’s win over the Los Angeles Clippers. Still, despite the Warriors having the day off, he found himself in the gym Sunday, getting up shots and working on his game. “Nothing like this will change me,” Morrow said in the midst of the postgame hysteria he caused Saturday. “The grind never stops.” His record performance — most points by an undrafted player in his rookie season and most points by a rookie this season — may have changed the Warriors for the better. It certainly gave the team a much-needed shot of energy and hope, which came in a timely fashion after Thursday’s heartbreaking loss to Detroit. It gave the Warriors another commodity to add to their portfolio of young talent to build on or barter.
The Golden State Warriors have assigned guard DeMarcus Nelson to the Bakersfield Jam of the NBA Development League, the team announced today.