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ORLANDO, Fla. - You find Stephen Jackson a high-maintenance player? Charlotte Bobcats coach Larry Brown knows high-maintenance, and it doesn't rattle him.
"I can deal with (high-maintenance) kids. All you have to do is be straight with them,'' Brown told the Observer Monday. "After six years with Allen (Iverson in Philadelphia), I don't look at anybody as a challenge. (Jackson) wants to play and he's a competitor. Guys like that you can make work in your locker room.''
The Bobcats acquired wing scorer Jackson, along with point guard Acie Law, from the Golden State Warriors Monday, giving up starting shooting guard Raja Bell and reserve forward Vlade Radmanovic.
Brown is enthusiastic about this deal, and Jackson played at shooting guard against the Magic on Monday night.
Jackson brings two qualities the Bobcats need - proven scoring ability and the versatility to play multiple positions. But he also brings a history of bad behavior that seems to conflict with majority owner Bob Johnson's promise at the franchise's outset.
Johnson publicly declared that he and his players would never do anything to "embarrass'' Charlotteans. While Johnson later clarified that promise wasn't equivalent to a zero-tolerance policy, Jackson is a departure from the players the Bobcats typically acquire.
In 2006, he fired a handgun into the air outside an Indianapolis strip club, following a late-night altercation in which he was punched and struck by a car.
In 2004, while playing for the Pacers, he was involved in the famous brawl with players and fans at a Detroit Pistons game. He eventually pleaded no-contest to a misdemeanor assault charge and served a year's probation, plus community service.
Most recently, Jackson demanded a trade so adamantly that his agent attacked Warriors coach Don Nelson's character repeatedly in an espn.com story.
Brown is aware of all that. He's close friends with one of Jackson's former coaches, San Antonio's Gregg Popovich, who advised Brown that Jackson is not out of control.
"Pop said he's going to test you,'' Brown said of Jackson's personality. "But if you call him out, he'll stay in line.
"I know this,'' Brown added, "Stephen Jackson is a talent and he loves to play. I work well with those guys.''
This is the fifth major trade for the Bobcats since Brown was installed as coach in April of 2008. In fact, the two players Charlotte gave up - Bell and Radmanovic - were both acquired in deals last season.
Bell said Monday he doesn't mind being traded, but he wish this had been resolved in the offseason, after the Bobcats said they weren't interested in extending his contract.
"It's the timing,'' Bell said of any frustration. "I personally wish this had happened in the summer, so I didn't move my family to Charlotte for the season.''
Jackson is a proven scorer. In 10 NBA seasons, he's averaged 15.5 points , and averaged 20.7 last season for the Warriors. The Bobcats are last in the NBA in points (82.4 per game) and field-goal percentage (39.4 percent).
Jackson immediately becomes the Bobcat best equipped to create his own shot. For all their pluses, neither Bell nor Radmanovic had those skills; they're both jump shooters heavily dependent on the point guards to find them open.
"Bless his heart, Raja isn't that guy (who can create a shot) at the end of a shot clock,'' Brown said.
Versatility is the other factor: Brown envisions Jackson, 6-foot-8, as the starting shooting guard and backup small forward behind Gerald Wallace, who now might play more power forward.
Brown says Jackson's skill set is wide enough that he might also play spot minutes at point guard or power forward.
Versatility is a quality Brown has always admired, but now especially, because of the Bobcats' depth concerns. Radmanovic was playing out of position at power forward when he's more a small forward.
This deal has some shot-term salary-cap benefits, reducing the Bobcats' payroll this season by about $1.8 million.
That essentially balances off the team's investment this season in free agent Flip Murray and creates some cushion before the Bobcats would approach the NBA's luxury-tax threshold.
However, it's eats up one of the Bobcats' best trade assets: Bell's expiring $5.25 million contract. The Bobcats need Jackson to be a keeper: He makes $7.65.million this season, and his three-year contract extension totaling nearly $28.million kicks in next season.
Brown now has a crowd at point guard, with Raymond Felton, D.J. Augustin, Murray and Law.
But if there's a position Brown doesn't mind being overloaded, it's the point.
"Obviously somebody is going to have to sit,'' Brown said, "but we're still at a point where we need to collect as many assets as possible.''
