Pierre Jackson Allowed to Talk

According to Marc Spears of Yahoo Sports, Pierre Jackson's representatives have been granted permission by the Pelicans to seek trade options.

Pierre is playing great," Jackson's agent, Colin Bryant, said from the D-League Showcase here Monday. "I have a great relationship with [Pelicans general manager] Dell Demps. We're working together to do what is best for both Pierre and the Pelicans."

The article goes on to state that the source believes the Pelicans are looking to land a draft pick or a player making around a minimum salary. Hmm, okay, let's look at facts leading up to this decision to see if we can determine the motivation and, more importantly, Dell Demps' end game.

• Demps has been enamored with Pierre Jackson much longer than when the Pelicans officially attained his rights.
• The Pelicans have Jrue Holiday, Brian Roberts and Austin Rivers capable of playing point guard. And don't forget, Tyreke Evans reduces the need for a prototypical floor general.
• Jackson, after a disappointing summer league, is lighting up the D-League and people have noticed.
• Ryan Anderson sustained a cervical stinger, has undergone numerous tests and, 72 hours later, the general population still has no idea of the severity.

Pierre Jackson is an offensive dynamo...in the minor leagues. There have been numerous players who have statistically done well and gone on to do zilch in the NBA. Now, I'm not conveniently forgetting the numerous success stories, but ask yourself, from that list, how many have gone on to be serious impact players?

Demps has a valuable commodity (owns rights to an apparent NBA-caliber player for $28,000) whose ceiling appears to be that of a solid rotation player. Not bad, not bad at all.

Next, factor in his performance to date -- likely, it would fall into the better-than-expected category. As the Spears article noted, there exist NBA general managers who think he can contribute immediately. Thus, it's not far-fetched to think his trade value may have exceeded his expected value to our organization.

So Demps, the ever ready dealer, has a shiny new chip at the table. Why not go ahead and see where the market currently sets his value? Especially for a team devoid of being able to tempt others with the promise of youthful upside.

**By the way, in no way shape or form, does today's news mean the Pelicans have less faith in Jackson than Rivers or Roberts. Rather, it's all about value, and only one of the trio has it.

The last bullet, regarding Anderson, is the wildcard and that's worrying. Does Demps know something we don't? Will the Pelicans be without the services of the Arsenal for some time and the front office is seeking a large band-aid? Or vice-versa, is the news THAT bad that attempting to get back into the 2014 first round make the most sense?

Along with countless of fans, I'm hoping Ryan Anderson's latest injury is mere coincidence. That signaling to the world Pierre Jackson is available is just Demps doing his due diligence. Sure would be nice though, if the Pelicans public relations department would attempt to put their fan base at ease. Now, for more reasons than one.