Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson was relieved of his coaching duties from the Warriors after bowing out of the first round of the NBA playoffs on Tuesday.
Jackson took over a basket case of a franchise and turned them into a potential powerhouse. Every season his win total improved, eventually stopping at 121-109.
When is your head not on the chopping block?
It’s no secret that Jackson was a big personality, too big for some, but firing him following a 51-win season was unfair.
The mid-season axing of assistant coach Darren Erman for taping intimate conversations was controversial, and he clashed with the Warriors management. But Jackson had the people on his side who were the most important if you want to win titles, the players.
Players played for Jackson. Listen to his timeout huddle with four minutes left in Game 7. He knew his coaching time was up unless they advanced past the second round, giving his players every ounce of belief he had in them.
Jackson was at the mercy of his team’s injuries. His injury-riddled Warriors took a power-packed Clippers line-up to seven games.
Andrew Bogut’s injury hurt the most.
Had the Warriors made the second round of the playoffs, even then it didn’t seem he would be safe. Owner Joe Lacob wants it now, even at the expense of player development.
The wrong choice of words was the most questionable part of the statement. In this, general manager Bob Myers said they, “Simply feel it’s best to move in a different direction”.
If improving isn’t good enough, which direction do you want to go in?
Do you miss being the bottom feeders of the NBA? Then why are you letting only the third coach to win 50 games in your franchise’s history leave?
Every NBA fan had a soft spot for the 2012-13 Warriors. The connection between Jackson and players like the ‘Splash Brothers’ Klay Thompson and three-point assassin Stephen Curry was magical.
David Lee and Australian Andrew Bogut were a force to be reckoned with in the paint and Jackson had a lot more to do with this than we think.
He is owed $2.75 million after the Warriors terminated his contract early, so I guess he’ll live.
But when does leading your franchise to its first back-to-back playoff appearances in over 20 years save your head from the chopping block?
Why do teams like the Warriors stay down the bottom of the food chain? Because they make dumb decisions.
Maybe, I’m wrong. Maybe they’ll bring in a coach who will turn them into a playoff bully for years to come. I just think that with time Jackson could have made the Warriors into a playoff bully, he preached belief.
One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, there will be another coaching job in the NBA for Jackson, I just liked that magic feeling he gave to the Warriors.
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