Stephen Jackson should have never signed with the Bucks. Considering he’s nearing the end of his career, signing with a lousy team made little sense unless he simply wanted money. A mere 30 games into the season, the honeymoon is already over. In fact, there never was a honeymoon as Jackson and Milwaukee coach Scott Skiles cannot see eye-to-eye. Jackson is frustrated, has been riding the bench, and wants to be traded.
“Not at all,” Jackson told HOOPSWORLD when asked if he has a future with the Bucks.. “It’s obvious, you can see that. I’m just waiting until my situation is different. I’m coming to work every day and keeping myself prepared so that when my situation does get better, I’m ready to go.”
Jackson is averaging only 10.9 points per game — his lowest total since his sophomore NBA season. He has been completely vocal about his desire to get out of Milwaukee and made it clear that he has no respect for the Bucks coaching staff.
“I’ve worked hard for many years to be that player that guys want to play with,” he said. “To not be playing, and not have any reasons behind it, it’s kind of disrespectful. At the end of the day, I’m 33 years old. I’m not a 22-year-old guy that you’re coaching. I’m a grown man who’s probably done more than a lot of people in this locker room in this league, including coaches. Like I said, I can’t put myself in the game and I can’t do anything except support my teammates and be ready for when I do play.”
He may be 33 years old, but he’s acting like a high school kid who had his minutes chopped down for no reason at all. No coach wants to let a player tell him what to do, but Jackson obviously has no respect for Skiles. If he’s not gone before the trade deadline, things can only get worse. A 33-year-old malcontent isn’t going to help the Bucks build a team for the future.
