Mark Jackson could turn out to be a great hire as head coach of the Golden State Warriors. Perhaps the best thing he has going for him is that he is practically a mirror image of his predecessor, Keith Smart.
Which is what makes Golden State’s choice of Jackson not necessarily wrong, but curious … if the Warriors wanted a young, media-friendly, minority coach with a great mind for the game and a lot of potential, well … they just fired him a couple of months back.
About the only difference between Smart and Jackson – both are 46, bright, and were contemporaries as college players and pros – is that Smart has a qualification on his resume that Jackson doesn’t – NBA coaching experience.
Smart led a talent-challenged, rag-tag Warriors club to 36 wins this past season, a 10-game improvement over the mess he inherited from Don Nelson.
As I blogged in this space a few weeks back, that near-miracle alone against a difficult lame-duck backdrop should have been enough to earn Smart the job.
Instead, new owners Joe Lacob and Peter Guber stated when they fired Smart they were interested first in bringing in their own guy (understandable to some degree) and, yes, they thought they could do better than Smart right now.
They didn’t, at least in the short term. No doubt they got a sexier name in Jackson, the former Indianapolis Pacers and New York Knicks whose star has risen as the colorful sidekick along former coach Jeff Van Gundy in NBA telecasts.
He’s showcased his knowledge of the game and already coined some iconic broadcasting phrases such as, “Hand down, man down,” and “Not on my watch.”
What he hasn’t done is coached a minute of NBA basketball, and that should have made a difference in the competition for this job, all other things being equal. And they are.
If the Warriors had hired Jackson’s booth partner Van Gundy, at least you could rationalize that they went with someone who has name recognition and is a proven winner in the NBA.
Not that it would have been any less of a slight to Smart, but a tad more logical.
Jackson no doubt came highly recommended by former Warriors great and executive Chris Mullin, his college teammate at St. John’s. Celtics coach Doc Rivers reportedly put in a good word as well.
Which is fine, but the Warriors’ brass had better hope Jackson’s name cache turns into wins on the court, but I wouldn’t bet on it. In fact, I’d lay -200 on under 36 wins next season, the mark Smart achieved in his lone go-round at the helm.
The desire to make a splash is natural, and Jackson fits that need, but allow me to just throw out a novel concept: Instead of trying to impress with a name, why not start your legacy by showing your fan base that you’re willing to do the right thing, and reward someone within the franchise whose performance merits it?
Instead, the Warriors borrowed a page from Jackson’s playbook: Not on our watch.
Mark Jackson could turn out to be a great hire as head coach of the Golden State Warriors. Perhaps the best thing he has going for him is that he is practically a mirror image of his predecessor, Keith Smart.
Which is what makes Golden State’s choice of Jackson not necessarily wrong, but curious … if the Warriors wanted a young, media-friendly, minority coach with a great mind for the game and a lot of potential, well … they just fired him a couple of months back.
About the only difference between Smart and Jackson – both are 46, bright, and were contemporaries as college players and pros – is that Smart has a qualification on his resume that Jackson doesn’t – NBA coaching experience.
Smart led a talent-challenged, rag-tag Warriors club to 36 wins this past season, a 10-game improvement over the mess he inherited from Don Nelson.
As I blogged in this space a few weeks back, that near-miracle alone against a difficult lame-duck backdrop should have been enough to earn Smart the job.
Instead, new owners Joe Lacob and Peter Guber stated when they fired Smart they were interested first in bringing in their own guy (understandable to some degree) and, yes, they thought they could do better than Smart right now.
They didn’t, at least in the short term. No doubt they got a sexier name in Jackson, the former Indianapolis Pacers and New York Knicks whose star has risen as the colorful sidekick along former coach Jeff Van Gundy in NBA telecasts.
He’s showcased his knowledge of the game and already coined some iconic broadcasting phrases such as, “Hand down, man down,” and “Not on my watch.”
What he hasn’t done is coached a minute of NBA basketball, and that should have made a difference in the competition for this job, all other things being equal. And they are.
If the Warriors had hired Jackson’s booth partner Van Gundy, at least you could rationalize that they went with someone who has name recognition and is a proven winner in the NBA.
Not that it would have been any less of a slight to Smart, but a tad more logical.
Jackson no doubt came highly recommended by former Warriors great and executive Chris Mullin, his college teammate at St. John’s. Celtics coach Doc Rivers reportedly put in a good word as well.
Which is fine, but the Warriors’ brass had better hope Jackson’s name cache turns into wins on the court, but I wouldn’t bet on it. In fact, I’d lay -200 on under 36 wins next season, the mark Smart achieved in his lone go-round at the helm.
The desire to make a splash is natural, and Jackson fits that need, but allow me to just throw out a novel concept: Instead of trying to impress with a name, why not start your legacy by showing your fan base that you’re willing to do the right thing, and reward someone within the franchise whose performance merits it?
Instead, the Warriors borrowed a page from Jackson’s playbook: Not on our watch.
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