Sixers sign Pierre Jackson
LAS VEGAS -- The 76ers signed Pierre Jackson to a partially guaranteed four-year contract on Tuesday. The 5-foot-10 point guard is here in his hometown playing with the Sixers playing in the NBA Summer League. They acquired Jackson in the 2014 NBA draft. He ruptured his right Achilles' tendon in last summer's Orlando Pro Summer League. The team released him September, but still gave him $40,000 to rehab. Follow and contact Keith Pompey on Twitter @PompeyOnSixers and on Instagram at PompeyOnSixers.
LAS VEGAS - Given their investment in Pierre Jackson, the 76ers' signing of the point guard late Tuesday was a formality.
Jackson, who is playing on the club's NBA Summer League team, signed a partially guaranteed four-year contract with the franchise at a hotel on the Las Vegas Strip.
The Sixers acquired Jackson, a former Baylor star, in the 2014 draft, but he ruptured his right Achilles tendon last summer in the Orlando Pro Summer League. The team released him in September but still gave him a $400,000 deal for his rehabilitation.
"Obviously I was a devastated when I got hurt," said Jackson, who finished with nine points Wednesday in a 75-68 loss to the Brooklyn Nets in the team's playoff opener. "But . . . you know, [coach] Brett Brown and [general manager Sam Hinkie] communicated with me throughout the whole season in just keeping my faith up.
"Knowing that they still were interested and ready for me to get back right, yesterday was a big day for me. Sam is a great guy and it was a big day for me and my family."
The 5-foot-10 Jackson, 23, played in the NBA Development League in the 2013-14 season.
The undermanned Sixers (0-4) struggled against the Nets. They shot 37.7 percent from the field and 13.3 percent on three-pointers in a game played without center Jahlil Okafor (excused absence), guard Jordan McRae (toe), and JaKarr Sampson (rest).
Okafor received permission to attend the ESPY awards on Wednesday. He is scheduled to return Thursday morning. The Sixers will face the Houston Rockets in a consolation game Friday at Cox Pavilion.
Brooklyn's Markel Brown finished with a game-high 23 points. Former Chester High and Arizona standout Rondae Hollis-Jefferson scored two points.
Scottie Wilbekin led the Sixers with 11 points. Jackson shot 3 of 9 and had three assists and four rebounds in the loss.
Although he is satisfied with the contract, Jackson knows nothing is guaranteed. He vowed to work hard.
"I never stopped working," he said. "That's been obvious throughout my basketball career since college. Obviously, you want to support your family and I want to continue to do that while playing in the NBA."
He joins a point guard group that includes Tony Wroten, Isaiah Canaan, and T.J. McConnell.
"That's going to be fun," Jackson said. "I think we're going to be real versatile and switch it up. I can score, I can pass and we will be able to play off each other."
Dr. J's take
Sixers great Julius Erving told Sirius XM NBA Radio that the team is still years away from being a contender.
When a group led by Josh Harris bought the team in July 2011, "I think the talk was about seven years," Erving said. "So I think it's still on that same timeline. . . . That's probably the 2018-19 [season], right?"
@PompeyOnSixers