The start of the 2012-2013 season should start much as the season before. Maynor will have had eleven months to rehab his torn ACL, so I suspect he will be available to start the beginning of the season.  That being said Presti and Scott Brooks might look to limit Maynor’s minuets to reduce the risk of re-injury.  Jackson spending a year in the offense and an off season training should help better prepare him to contribute if called upon this upcoming season.  Unlike Cole Aldrich, Jackson is coming off a well played summer league. He even had himself a poster dunk, which was the dunk of the summer league.  He was able to frustrate opposing point guards, and scored just over 15 points per game in his time in Orlando.

Even with the improved summer league play, Jackson still showed some areas of improvement that were issues last year. In the summer league he only shot 41% from the field. This was ultimately the reason the Thunder pursued veteran point guard Derrick Fisher last year. Last season Jackson only managed 32% from the field, and 21% from behind the three point arc.  To compound this problem, Jackson is more of a Russell Westbrook lead guard, and not a true point guard. With Harden doing much of the ball handling for the second unit, this leaves Jackson is more catch and shoot opportunities that are not his strength. This shows by the fact that Jackson took almost as many threes last year as two point shots. Someone who is as athletic as Jackson needs to be taking more shots at the rim than shooting threes. However, he only shot 44% at the rim last year, so that could use some work too.

I suspect that the improvement we saw in the summer league to carry over to the NBA for Jackson and his NBA season numbers to be closer to what he did in the summer league. With Jackson expected to see very little playing time, it is tough to gage any sort of per game stats. I do expect his averages to be up this year, but still needing work. If Jackson is able to shoot 40%+ from the floor and 30%+ from three that would be a great improvement from last year. I am fairly confident he will be able to achieve these shooting numbers in limited time and should continue to improve over the season. Another stat to look for would be Jackson’s assist to turnover ratio. Last year it was just under 2 at 1.97.  I suspect that number to raise slightly this season and settle around 2.5 this year, which again is an improvement but something that needs some work.

Even thought I suspect Jackson to see very limited minutes this season, I predict we will see improvement almost across the board with his season averages. Jackson continues to be an offensive project for the Thunder. Perhaps the most important issue regarding the development of Jackson is the decision to keep back up point guard Eric Maynor.  Thunder will be looking to keep salaries down if they pursue an extension for James Harden. This could push Maynor out and Jackson will have to be ready for the backup point guard role. Hopefully he will be ready.

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@codybrees

Cole has had a disappointing career up to this point.  He has had a difficult time living up to the hype, after the Thunder traded up for him at the number eleven pick in the 2010 draft. With the departure of veteran Nazr Mohammed, Cole could earn some rotation time this year. With potential playing time on the line, in the 2012 NBA summer league Cole looked like much of the same player as the last two years. Cole never scored more than ten points, or grabbed more than seven rebounds, against what would be considered sub-par competition for a player going into his third year.  In addition he only averaged one block per game, and in only 16 minutes against the Pacers, he was charged with seven fouls. (You are allowed ten fouls in the summer league)  Fouls have been a major concern so far in Cole’s NBA career, averaging 5.9 fouls per 36 minuets of play, and are more than likely a point of emphasis of the Thunder coaching staff going forward.

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With the above concerns, you can tell why the Thunder signed Hasheem Thabeet,  Hollis Thompson, and Daniel Orton. Cole’s role on this team is in no way safe. Unless Cole can show significant signs of improvement,  I don’t expect the Thunder to pick up his 3.2 million dollar team option for the 2013-14 season(Over three times as much as Thabeet or Daniel Orton). Looking to save all the money they can to give to Harden, they will not be able to pay the 12th man on their bench over 3 million dollars. In addition, if Cole continues to under perform do not be surprised to see Thabeet or others dressing and possibly taking Cole’s spot toward the end of the bench. That being said, currently if coach Scott Brooks wants to go big with the second unit, Cole is the only viable option to replace Nazr. Of course with Dwight Howard coming to the Lakers, it would be ideal to have as many big bodies to throw at him as possible. Other than against the Lakers, I suspect the Thunder to play smaller and faster with Nick Collison playing minutes at center.  Playing smaller allows the Thunder to play more up temp and play their best players, which does not include Cole.

Overall,  Cole has above average athleticism and if he could ever put together the tools that made him the number eleven overall pick, he could play some significant minuets with the second unit. He has a good hook shot from the low block that he can perform with either hand, which is more than anyone can say about Kendrick Perkins.  I suspect he will be able to get some time early in the season at center with the second unit. Hopefully Cole will be able to grow this season and fill the need of a backup center that the Thunder are searching for. In a month hopefully we will have a better idea of Cole’s role when we see the Thunder play a few preseason game. Until then, we are just left to wonder.

@codybrees