Former Erie BayHawks point guard Cedric Jackson is one of five training camp invites for the Cleveland Cavaliers, who open training camp today at Cleveland Clinic Courts in Independence, Ohio. Jackson played college ball at Cleveland State.
This is a step up for Cedric Jackson.
A year ago, he was a rookie point guard in training camp with the Erie BayHawks in the D-League. Now he’s a camp invite for the Cleveland Cavaliers, who open training camp Monday.
Then again, Jackson has NBA talent and should on an NBA roster already. Last season, he got NBA call ups from three different teams including the Cavs, who are an NBA affiliate of the BayHawks.
Now the last team to call Jackson up was the Washington Wizards, who signed him for the rest of the season in the spring of last year. So you might wonder, well, why isn’t he starting camp with the Wizards.
Well, my man Michael Lee of the Washington Post, let us know what happened earlier this summer on his blog.
The team rescinded a qualifying offer for Cedric Jackson last week, making him an unrestricted free agency.
The question is why did this happen.
Was this on the Wizards, Jackson, Jackson’s agent or something else?
Whatever the case, Jackson now finds himself back in Cleveland where he played college ball for Cleveland State looking to make the Cavs’ final roster.
Even though Jackson spent considerable time with the Cavaliers when they called him up, it’s going to be a tough chore to make that team.
It’s just hard for training camp invites to stick on NBA rosters so don’t be surprised if Jackson ends up back in Erie suiting up for the BayHawks. The Cavs and BayHawks are so tight right now, it’s hard not to think this is all headed in that direction for Jackson.
After reading AOL Fanhouse D-League blogger Scott Schroeder’s explanation of the D-League’s new allocation rule, I’m even more certain Jackson will end up in Erie if he doesn’t make Cleveland’s final roster.
Beginning this season, up to three players cut last from the roster of an NBA team before the D-League Draft will be allocated to that team’s D-League affiliate provided they sign the standard D-League contract.
I got to know Jackson a little bit when he was in Erie. Love watching the guy play, but told him point blank I’d rather see him in the NBA than in Erie because I knew he had the talent to play in the NBA.
Now if he returns to Erie for this upcoming season, the BayHawks would have a great foundation to build around. It would be a blessing for their new head coach, Jay Larranaga, a former Cornell assistant who replaced John Treloar, who is now the director of player personnel for the Phoenix Suns.
However, Jackson should be in the NBA.
