Warriors not crazy about Jackson's options.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)

OAKLAND _ It took rookie Marc Jackson three years to find his way to Golden State, but he finally got here.

Jackson, selected in the second round of the 1997 NBA draft by the Warriors, first played in Spain and Turkey before landing a spot on the roster and now a spot in the starting lineup.

Now the Warriors must find a way to keep him, which may not be easy. Because of complicated salary cap rules, the Warriors likely are going to have to do some maneuvering if they want to hold on to Jackson, who will become a free agent at the end of the season.

If the Warriors are above the salary cap at the end of the season, which is expected, they will have only three options to re-sign Jackson, two of which will give them virtually no chance to retain him.

Even though he is their own free agent, the Warriors can't simply pay Jackson whatever they want. Because he has not been with the club long enough to earn his "Larry Bird rights," the Warriors can't go above the salary cap to re-sign him.

Option No. 1 for the Warriors would be to give Jackson up to a 20 percent raise off his current minimum contract of $317,969. There is no way Jackson, who is averaging 10.4 points and 5.3 rebounds per game, will play for $380,562 next year.

Option No. 2 would be for the Warriors to sign Jackson to the $1.3 million exception they'll have, presuming they stay over the cap. Again, after what Jackson has done this year, it's unlikely he'd play for that little.