Looks like Mark Jackson is gone

[sjballer03]

Mark Jackson's way and the highway - Ethan Sherwood Strauss, May 6, 2014

Mark Jackson's way and the highway - TrueHoop Blog - ESPN

Mark Jackson placed enough oomph behind the metaphor to make it seem almost literal.

“I’m fighting for my life,” Jackson said after the Golden State Warriors' Game 6 win against the Los Angeles Clippers, before clarifying: “basketball life.”

Five days later, Jackson suffered basketball death by the hand of an ownership group that had enough. He was smart, funny and charismatic, but also stubborn, abrasive and bellicose. Jackson thrived on having enemies. Eventually, he’d made the wrong ones.

The 2013-14 Warriors coaching staff has ended like a Shakespearean play, with plots and counterplots leading to death for all. Not even the video guy survived the final act.

Mike Malone was able to escape Jackson’s ire with a head-coaching gig in Sacramento, but others were not so lucky. Jackson and Jackson’s loyalists (Pete Myers and Lindsey Hunter) clashed with Brian Scalabrine, which resulted in Scalabrine’s D-League exile. Then Jackson’s group clashed with Darren Erman, leading to Erman secretly recording what became his own pink slip.

Jackson isn’t to blame for everything that happened in these quarrels, but his “us against them” ethos likely exacerbated the rifts.

While it’s true Jackson got the players on his side -- valuable allies to have -- Jackson’s other alliances may have hurt him.

The September introduction of Hunter, a friend of Jackson’s, was regarded as a destabilizing force, according to multiple sources. This marks the third consecutive time his hiring has coincided with a head coach getting fired within a year. Hunter had a reputation as an undermining individual from his days in Chicago and Phoenix. While he did not sabotage Jackson specifically, he made life difficult for others on staff.

It’s quite possible Jackson couldn’t have survived even with a cohesive coaching staff.

It all started off on the wrong foot, with Jackson deciding to coach the Warriors while living in Los Angeles and presiding over his church as pastor. Management found this arrangement less than ideal, but Jackson flat out refused to reconsider.

Being a pastor meant a lot to him, and he wasn’t giving it up for anything. Though he claimed an Oakland apartment, his family lived in Los Angeles and he spent a majority of the offseason there. It was the first of many instances when ownership perspective was met with a firm rebuke.

Jackson just wasn’t a compromiser, and perhaps his players loved that about him. With ownership, such an attitude could only go so far. Bosses generally like to have their input listened to at the very least.

The firing has taught us a few things about Joe Lacob's group, if not a few things about the new class of NBA owners in general. We’ve learned 51 wins is not enough for everybody. Lacob is heavily involved in team operations and expected a top-four playoff seed.

We’ve also learned that the Warriors aren’t the New York Knicks. Stephen Curry might be a budding superstar, but he doesn’t get to hire and fire coaches. Perhaps this Jackson firing will harm the relationship between Curry and management, but Warriors brass is willing to take that risk. That’s bold, maybe hubristically bold, but Lacob didn’t buy this team to live in fear of his employees.

The Lacob group wanted to be in charge of the operation that it, in theory, controls. It isn’t alone, either. To quote Kevin Arnovitz’s annual rundown of the top coaching candidates, “League execs insist there is no consideration more important in hiring a head coach than whether he conforms to the sensibility of ownership -- not personal background, whiteboard skills, media relations, city or even pedigree.”

Jackson didn’t conform, and now he’s gone. Is that fair? Fairness is beside the point in a hypercompetitive environment where tenures are short and glory is fleeting.

Jackson probably could have avoided the fork in the road that led to this, but he chose to do it his way. He worked a second job in Southern California, emphatically flaunted his faith and hired less than highly regarded friends. Maybe he needed to make these kinds of choices to be successful, but he wasn’t successful enough to validate his decisions in the eyes of management.

If you’re going to do it your way, you need to win big. Jackson didn't.

 

[Hambombs]

List them

Stan van gundy, hollins, Tom thibs, Kerr (seems like a smart man), George Karl

 

[sjballer03]

Stan van gundy, hollins, Tom thibs, Kerr (seems like a smart man), George Karl

You can add guys like Kevin Ollie, Fred Hoiberg, Caleb Canales, and Jerry Sloan (if he still wants to coach) to that list. I understand that some of the coaches mentioned above may not be interested, but it's not slim pickings as some people would like to believe.

 

[True Lakers Fan]

Stan van gundy, hollins, Tom thibs, Kerr (seems like a smart man), George Karl

I pity the fans that gets stuck with Stan Van Gundy and his whiny little girl screeching voice game after game

 

[Hambombs]

You can add guys like Kevin Ollie, Fred Hoiberg, Caleb Canales, and Jerry Sloan (if he still wants to coach) to that list. I understand that some of the coaches mentioned above may not be interested, but it's not slim pickings as some people would like to believe.

Yup. People gotta understand that warriors lead the league in most isos. Even though they have a really talented passing team

 

[sjballer03]

Yup. People gotta understand that warriors lead the league in most isos. Even though they have a really talented passing team

I died a little bit inside every time I saw an ISO play. Mjax was too eager to try and exploit mismatches, without realizing that none of the players were any good at ISOs.

 

[Am I Blue Through it All?]

Lotta speculation around here that the Pacers may be looking at Jackson for next year if the team continues to implode.

 

[TENN.SPORTS.FAN]

Lotta speculation around here that the Pacers may be looking at Jackson for next year if the team continues to implode.

He'd be a good choice, i liked him in Golden State and i think he might crack down on Hibbert.

 

[bksballer89]

NBA Mark Jackson talks about firing - ESPN

Jackson is dead on

 

[bksballer89]

Stan van gundy, hollins, Tom thibs, Kerr (seems like a smart man), George Karl

Lol @ kerr

SVG isn't that special.

If you want regular season success and no defense, George karl is your man

Hollins and thibs are great defensive minds but I'm pretty sure Jackson offensive philosophy is better than both. GSW were 11th, 10th, and 12th in offensive efficiency in j as Jackson 3 yrs. Memphis finished 20th and 18th in hollins last 2 yrs while the bulls finished 24th and 27th the last 2 yrs. Good luck

 

[True Lakers Fan]

NBA Mark Jackson talks about firing - ESPN

Jackson is dead on

I am now 100% that Jackson would be the right coach for the Lakers if he doesn't think coaching the Lakers is beneath him. My choice would be Jackson or Byron Scott

 

[Hambombs]

Lol @ kerr

SVG isn't that special.

If you want regular season success and no defense, George karl is your man

Hollins and thibs are great defensive minds but I'm pretty sure Jackson offensive philosophy is better than both. GSW were 11th, 10th, and 12th in offensive efficiency in j as Jackson 3 yrs. Memphis finished 20th and 18th in hollins last 2 yrs while the bulls finished 24th and 27th the last 2 yrs. Good luck

SVG is a very good coach. George Karl had great success with the supersonics remember?? They played smothering defense.. Jackson offense wasn't good like I said HE USED ISOS WITH A GREAT PASSING TEAM WHICH IS NOT PLAYING TO THERE STRNEGTH. Thibs had a pretty good offense that was in the top 5 couple years ago.

 

[Hambombs]

I wish Jackson all the best though. He was a decent coach a guy that will get a lottery team to the playoffs. Just not the guy that will get you to the promised land

 

[True Lakers Fan]

I wish Jackson all the best though. He was a decent coach a guy that will get a lottery team to the playoffs. Just not the guy that will get you to the promised land

I am thinking that it was his first head coaching job in the NBA ever and he took a team that was 1-17 in the making to playoffs to 3-0 with injured players every year - Coaches don't win championships - players do and I think he did a good job, but did not get along with upper management -was his only problem

 

[Hambombs]

I am thinking that it was his first head coaching job in the NBA ever and he took a team that was 1-17 in the making to playoffs to 3-0 with injured players every year - Coaches don't win championships - players do and I think he did a good job, but did not get along with upper management -was his only problem

Yep that wasn't the only problem with management. He just didn't max the rosters full ability

 

[True Lakers Fan]

Yep that wasn't the only problem with management. He just didn't max the rosters full ability

Every coach has his weaknesses and strengths - so he made some mistakes in his early career as head coach, but he still did an outstanding job in my opinion and changing the coach when he just now getting good at it is the worst mistake. The Warriors could have done much worse and might do worse with the next coach. A new coach does not guarantee success or improvement. Just saying

 

[Hambombs]

Every coach has his weaknesses and strengths - so he made some mistakes in his early career as head coach, but he still did an outstanding job in my opinion and changing the coach when he just now getting good at it is the worst mistake. The Warriors could have done much worse and might do worse with the next coach. A new coach does not guarantee success or improvement. Just saying

I agree that's why you take a risk

 

[Hambombs]

Reports: Warriors job is Kerr?s if he wants it; D?Antoni, Dunleavy also interested | The Point Forward - SI.com

 

[bksballer89]

D'Antoni & Dunleavy lmao

 

[bksballer89]

I wish Jackson all the best though. He was a decent coach a guy that will get a lottery team to the playoffs. Just not the guy that will get you to the promised land

And you know this how? The team in GSW was never a title contender and you can thank management for that. Jackson did the best you could do with the roster he had. This team will never get out of the 2nd round barring major injuries to the teams above them. They will always be a 5-7 seed and best case scenario is to make it to the 2nd round.

How can you say he will never get you to the promise land if he had a team that NOBODY ever considered as title contenders. When he coaches a title contender and gets eliminated in round 1 and 2 then you can make that ridiculous statement