It’s hard to tell who the Nets might be interested in when they scout a game, particularly in Europe. It’s not something teams disclose ... for competitive reasons.
But twice in the last month, Nets front office executives have been on hand for games where Edwin Jackson, the Spanish League’s leading scorer, has played. Sean Marks started off his March tour of Europe with a game where Jackson, a 6’4” shooting guard scored 27 points. David Pick tweeted at the time that the Nets are indeed interested.
Source tells me French assassin Edwin Jackson also on BRK radar. Nets officials witnessed the ACB best scorer drop 27 on Malaga.
— David Pick (@IAmDPick) March 23, 2017
Then Sunday, Trajan Langdon, the Nets assistant GM, was in Gran Canaria, Spain. It’s likely that he was there to take a look at Gran Canaria’s Anzejs Pasceniks, a 7’2” draft prospect. But Gran Canaria was playing Movistar Estudiantes and Jackson had another big game, scoring 26. Langdon wasn’t alone in the stands. R.C. Buford of the Spurs and Kevin Pritchard of the Pacers were also on hand.
Three years ago, Jackson was in Nets free agent camp but was not offered an invitation to Summer League. The Celtics did invite him but he didn’t get a contract.
Now at 27, Jackson sees himself at the top of his game. He’s averaging 22.3 points, shooting 59.4 percent from two and 38.6 percent from three, but he’s playing for a bad team and when he played for a good one, he didn’t do well. Still, he’s athletic, has a quick release on his jumpshot and plays decent defense. He can even play a little point guard. His father, Skeeter Jaskson, played for years in Europe and Edwin is a dual citizen of the U.S. and France.
He has repeatedly said he’s interested in joining the NBA after this year. "I’ve always wanted to go to the NBA, no matter what happens,” ," he told Hoopshype in February when the blog left him off their list of Euro free agent prospects. “If I only get interest from Euroleague, that’s fine. But if an NBA team comes calling, I would definitely not overlook that.”
Jackson has also said he will only accept a guaranteed contract from the NBA. Otherwise, he will seek a big contract from a Euroleague team.
Of course, the Nets may not be ready to sign him to a deal right now but Jackson is one of Europe’s top scorers and the Nets are investing a lot of time and energy in scouting international players this spring.
Here’s some video of a recent game...