Jackson gets his day in the Suns

1/22/2005

PHOENIX - The Phoenix Suns added a veteran scorer to their young roster yesterday, sending three players to the New Orleans Hornets for Jim Jackson.

The Suns, who bolted to a 31-4 start but had lost five straight going into last night's game against San Antonio, sent swingman Casey Jacobsen, 23, and forwards Maciej Lampe, 19, and Jackson Vroman, 23, to the Hornets.

Jackson, 34, will replace Jacobsen as the sixth man in the Suns' rotation, playing both small forward and guard. The Suns, who also received a second-round draft pick, will be the 12th team in 13 seasons for Jackson. He starred at Toledo's former Macomber High School and at Ohio State.

"Jim Jackson adds significant depth to our roster and should significantly increase our bench productivity," Suns president and general manager Bryan Colangelo said. "He is a savvy vet whose game fits our system well."

Before the trade, the Suns had the youngest team in the NBA, a factor that was evident in the recent losing streak, when Phoenix struggled to score without point guard Steve Nash.

Jackson, who has a career average of 15.2 points in 805 NBA games, was acquired by New Orleans in late December in a trade that sent longtime Hornets guard David Wesley to Houston. But Jackson refused to report to New Orleans, saying he did not want to start over with a rebuilding team.

The Hornets suspended Jackson without pay, meaning he has forfeited more than $302,000 in salary for the 11 games he has missed. While Phoenix took a 31-9 record - second-best in the NBA - into last night's game,

the Hornets have the NBA's worst record at 6-32.

The Suns are the league's most prolific 3-point shooting team, and that is one of Jackson's strengths. The 6-6 Jackson made a career-high 162 3-pointers last season, ranking sixth in the NBA.

He becomes the oldest player on the Suns' roster.

Jackson was averaging 13.3 points and 4.8 rebounds this season with Houston. He also has played for Dallas, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Golden State, Portland, Atlanta, Cleveland, Miami and Sacramento. He signed with the Rockets as a free agent before last season.

Jacobsen was a first-round pick of the Suns, the 22nd selection overall, in 2002. He was averaging 5.3 points and had played in all 40 games this season.

The 6-11 Lampe, one of the league's youngest players, was acquired by the Suns in the eight-player trade that sent Stephon Marbury and Penny Hardaway to the New York Knicks last season. He averaged 2.8 points per game in 16 appearances this season.

Vroman was acquired in a draft-day deal with the Chicago Bulls, who chose him in the second round, the 31st pick overall. The hustling, 6-10 forward averaged 1.6 points and 1.3 rebounds in 10 games, including one start.

DETROIT - The Detroit Pistons acquired point guard Carlos Arroyo from Utah in a trade that sent center Elden Campbell and a first-round pick after 2006 to the Jazz.

The 6-2 Arroyo will provide depth behind Chauncey Billups and will allow Lindsey Hunter - in his 12th NBA season - to play fewer minutes. Arroyo started 71 games and averaged 12.6 points and 5.0 assists last season for the Jazz, but his role diminished this season despite signing a new contract on July 14. He started 16 of 30 games and averaged 8.2 points and 5.1 rebounds.

His departure likely means more playing time for former Bowling Green star Keith McLeod, who is averaging 7.6 points and 4.9 assists per game.

"We're excited to add him to our team, because we think Carlos adds great flexibility to our backcourt," said Joe Dumars, Detroit's president of basketball operations.

Arroyo has three years and about $12 million left on his contract after this season.

Campbell, 36, helped the Pistons win the NBA title over the Los Angeles Lakers last season by slowing down Shaquille O'Neal. But he played in just 21 games this season because of Detroit's three-player frontcourt rotation of Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace and Antonio McDyess.