Stephen Jackson Released By the San Antonio Spurs

In a shocking move, the Spurs waived Stephen Jackson today. According to Yahoo! Sports, San Antonio head coach Gregg Popovich and Jax hadn’t been seeing eye-to-eye for some time: “After recurring disagreements with the team about his diminishing role, the San Antonio Spurs released forward Stephen Jackson on the cusp of the playoffs, league sources said. The Spurs had threatened the release for several days, but Jackson was still surprised that coach Gregg Popovich carried through with it on Friday, sources said. Jackson, 34, isn’t eligible to be included on a playoff roster if he’s claimed off waivers or becomes a free agent after 48 hours. Popovich and Spurs general manager R.C. Buford had worked out issues with Jackson as far back as the trade deadline, and one source says the organization even offered to release Jackson and let him go elsewhere, if that was his wish. Nevertheless, disagreements over Jackson’s role resurfaced in recent days, and the Spurs believed that Jackson had started to have a negative impact on the team’s younger players. Within the Spurs, the organization didn’t believe Jackson was playing well enough to bring him into the playoffs under these circumstances, sources said.”