Serge Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins strike me as two dudes who you don’t want to upset. With Kevin Durant & Russell Westbrook both out with injury there is already enough stress around the team. A report is saying there is some negative things happening beneath the surface as well and it is affecting the locker room. Ibaka & Perkins decided to “freeze” point guard Reggie Jackson out of the game by not passing him the ball after both big men became upset with his play.

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According to Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman, Thunder big men Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka became so frustrated with point guard Reggie Jackson on Monday night that they refused to give him the ball in the second half. This came on a night when the Thunder lost to the Brooklyn Nets and Jackson scored 23 points after taking a whopping 20 shots.

Mayberry notes that Perkins and Ibaka intentionally passed the ball elsewhere when leading the break following defensive rebounds. Perkins admitted to freezing out Jackson and seemed apologetic.

“Just let the game come to you,” Perkins said this week. “But with myself and with Serge, we got to do a better job with our body language and leadership skills, because I didn’t like the way I acted in the Brooklyn game as far as my body language toward Reggie. But we know Reggie means well. We support him. He’s one of my good friends off the court. So it’s no harm in that.”

The freeze-out speaks to a larger issue with Jackson. The 24-year-old has made it known in the past that he wants to start somewhere in the NBA. He plays the same position as Westbrook, so that’s not going to happen in Oklahoma City when Westbrook is healthy.

Jackson will become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. He might look at Westbrook’s absence as an opportunity to showcase his skills, even if it means playing selfish basketball.

via LBS