Reggie Jackson's perceived ego, selfish tendencies, and unwillingness to accept a backup role during his final year with the Oklahoma City Thunder rubbed several of his teammates, including center Steven Adams, the wrong way.
Adams recalls a stretch at the start of the 2014-15 season where Jackson moved into the starting lineup as Russell Westbrook missed time with a right hand injury. Jackson put up respectable numbers (20.2 points and 7.8 assists) during that stretch, but Adams felt the Thunder "weren't clicking on the floor," as he wrote in his memoir "Steven Adams: My Life, My Fight."
"When Russ came back from injury and took over the starting spot again, Reggie wasn't happy. We were just looking at him thinking, 'You've got to be some kind of fool to seriously think you should be starting over Russ.' But that's exactly what he thought, and that kind of thinking went against everything the Thunder was about," wrote Adams.
Jackson was eventually shipped off to the Detroit Pistons as part of a three-team deal, entering a situation where he could finally be a full-time starter. When he left, no one on the Thunder was sad to see him go.
"When the trade deadline got near, we knew Reggie wanted to leave. And because we knew he wanted to leave, we wanted him to leave as well," added the 7-footer. "Why would we want to work every day with someone who wanted to be somewhere else?
"When he was finally traded to the Detroit Pistons, we forgot about him pretty quickly because we had new guys to welcome to the team."
Former Oklahoma City All-Star Kevin Durant said following the trade that Jackson "got what he wanted," and that the Thunder "felt like everybody wanted to be here except for one guy."
Before the trade, Jackson reportedly refused to play on Nov. 1, 2014 after being cleared following an ankle injury because the Thunder wouldn't honor his trade request, according to ESPN's Royce Young.
Upon learning of his move to the Motor City, Jackson tweeted out "crying tears of joy #godisgreat."
