Frank Jackson has had three surgeries on his Foot, and I have to wonder if it is getting any better. The terrible travesty of that is that Frank is a talented player that the New Orleans Pelicans could do something with. He could be a good player, but he has this nagging injury that sees to be getting in the way. I feel bad for him, but we should ask ourselves why these kids are hurt so much when they arrive in the NBA. I think it starts in the AAU world.
Playing through injury
Playing through injuries is easy for young kids because they want to keep playing.
They want to be on the floor, and they want to be seen. Kids on that level have so much adrenaline and youth that they can play through anything. If they do that enough, they will have nagging injuries that follow them to college. Someone who goes to college and has to be on the floor to be seen will get hurt even more, and they will be in bad enough shape that they miss a lot of the season. Look at all the people who are hurt when the season starts such Blake Griffin and Kyrie Irving.
Will the Pelicans get anything out of him?
The Pelicans have enough talent on the roster to get around Frank's injury, but he has to be on the floor at some point as a complimentary piece. He could be the shooter who pitches in 15 points a game, and he will encircle Anthony Davis and Demarcus Cousins with an outlet that they need.
This could be a very good team, and they could create amazing options for him as a shooter. This could be a team that is good enough to compete in the west. No, they will not beat the Warriors, but they will be much better than they have been.
Frank has time to heal
Frank is so young that he could miss much of the season, and he would return the next season to be the rookie that the Pelicans need.
They will add yet another person to the roster, and they will be even better than they thought. I am impressed with the way the Pelicans are put together, and I think that they still have hope even with Frank's injury.
The AAU circuit works kids hard
You can see the picture of Frank for this article is from the McDonald's All-American game.
He probably worked his whole life to get to that game, but I believe that he was hurting himself at the same time. Bless him, he probably played through more than enough injuries, and He pushed his body to the point that he is now having another surgery after he has been drafted. I feel bad for him, but perhaps a professional training staff can keep him in check.
