LEPPER'S INTERVIEW WITH JACKSON

This is a must read for all Warrior fans. Important questions are posed by Geoff Lepper in the following blog entry:

Q&A with Stephen Jackson - 48minutes.net

It gives you a little insight on Stephen Jackson's thought process and clues to how this may play out if his scheduled extension falls through. Jackson seems to be reasonable in his expectations and there doesn't seem to be (at least on the surface) a need to work out an extension prior to the start of the season.


Some key quotes straight from Jackson himself:

...why would I stress now when I have two more years left? It’s not a big deal to me.

...I’ve got two years left on my contract, so I’ve still got some type of security.

...I didn’t know what the outcome would be, and I just took my chance at it. I don’t think it was something where I was like, “OK, I’ve got to do this now, because if I don’t, then I don’t want to be here.” Or, “I’ve got to do this now, if I don’t, it might not happen.” It was just something where I woke up one morning and I was thinking, “Hey, I’ve got two more years. Let me go see if, since I’ve been here and I’ve been doing so great, as far as in the community, on the team and all this other stuff. Let me see if this is an option. And I just brought it to the table.

...me being the captain of the team and the only guy with a ring, for me to stand up here and say that these guys are the future and this is their team, that lets you know that I’m not being a selfish guy. That lets you know that I’m about winning and I’m about doing the right thing for this team and for the organization.

Sounds like Jackson won't go off the deep end if he doesn't get the extension he has publicly announced was promised to him. He claims to be a team player, putting the team first, so hopefully he understands that the Warriors can't offer him a deal that extends his contract for 3 years AND gives him a raise. By the time year 3 of his contract rolls around, he will be well past his prime and not worth tying up salary that could be used on a stronger, younger contributor.