He’s in Uniform but Out of Practice

Jim Jackson arrived in town, passed his physical and, the Lakers hope, remembered to bring his jump shot with him.

The 14-year veteran hasn’t played in a game since Jan. 4 but was picked up for a relatively minimal financial investment after being cut last week by the Phoenix Suns.

He walked through some plays during Monday morning’s shoot-around and re-familiarized himself with the triangle offense, which he ran with Dallas for part of his first four years in the league.

“Trust me, there’s a lot of cobwebs,” Jackson said.

There are also going to be a lot of minutes for Jackson -- perhaps not right away, but the Lakers didn’t sign him to sit at the end of the bench.

Coach Phil Jackson considered giving him a night off, letting him observe in street clothes and adjust a bit longer to his 12th team. Then assistant coach Brian Shaw said something to the effect of “throw him in there.”

“So he’s dressing,” Jackson said before Monday’s game against San Antonio.

Jim Jackson ended up not playing in the 103-96 loss to the Spurs, but he’ll get plenty of chances.

“It’s a great opportunity for me to help a young team try to get into position for the playoffs, teetering right on the cusp of staying in that eighth position, being able to take it to the next step,” said Jackson, who signed for the rest of the season for what was believed to be closer to $300,000.

“It was an opportunity for me to come in and play some good minutes and also, again, helping young guys to get to that next level.”

He averaged 8.8 points and 3.9 rebounds last season as the Suns won a league-high 62 games. In the playoffs, he averaged 11 points and made 32 of 62 (51.6%) three-point attempts for the Suns, who lost to eventual champion San Antonio in the Western Conference finals.

Jackson’s minutes were slashed this season and he averaged 3.7 points and 2.4 rebounds in 27 games with Phoenix.

“I’ve got a lot left,” he said. “The good part about it is that my body’s not beat up because I haven’t played a lot the second part of this year.”

Jackson, a career 14.5-point scorer, will be eligible for the playoffs if the Lakers qualify.