Hopefully Stephen Curry enjoys surprises.
The Los Angeles Clippers outlasted the Golden State Warriors Saturday night, won Game 7 and sent Mark Jackson’s squad home early. It happens. The Warriors advanced through to the second round as a sixth seed last season. They lost to a more talented Clippers faction this year. It just happens.
But in the absence of a deep playoff run, the Warriors are expected to can Jackson, who has spent his time in Oakland butting heads with the front office.
That doesn’t sit well with Curry, who has made it clear on multiple occasions Jackson shouldn’t be going anywhere. Following Golden State’s Game 7 loss, he backed the strong-willed coach once again, per Steve Berman of BayAreaSportsGuy.com:
What coach has gone through this year has been unlike anything I’ve seen. Just the amount of distractions and the circus that’s been around him and the decisions he’s had to make. I love coach more than anybody. For him to be in a situation where his job is under scrutiny and under question is totally unfair. It would definitely be a shock to me if anything like that were to happen. I’m going to voice my support for coach, you know, you’ve got anybody that asks me all summer. He deserves to be our coach next year and we’re going to come back and build off the momentum we’ve gained in the last three years, and continue to grow as a team. And I want Coach Jackson to be the guy leading us.
Curry likely won’t embrace what’s coming next.
Smoke is everywhere. A fire must be somewhere. All of these rumors cannot be false and manufactured with the merit equivalent of crap. I mean, Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski is involved now. You know this is for real.
“He’s on an island,” one source told Woj of Jackson.
Given everything that’s out there, coupled with Golden State’s early exit, it would be—unlike Curry says—shocking for Jackson to still be in town next season. Which, really, is a damn shame.
I’m no staunch supporter of Jackson. Let me get that out of the way. But I am a believer in star power—real star power. Not the bullshit certain teams sling to half-assed stars who aren’t really stars, but actual star power.
Superstars deserve a say in coaching decisions, especially incumbent coaching decisions. End of story. Curry is a superstar. He’s a superstar being paid a beggar’s dime—four years, $44 million—by superstar standards. If retaining Jackson makes him happy, why not give it at least another year? It’s not like Golden State’s dysfunction spilled onto the court, after all. Players and coaches did a phenomenal job of keeping off-court issues off the court, away from games.
The Warriors also had 50-plus wins for the first time since 1993-94, so it’s not like they’re wilting under Jackson’s outspoken bravado. They’re a few pieces shy of legitimate championship contention.
There’s no question Jackson can be stubborn—more stubborn than Mike “The super small East is super big, man” Woodson. His penchant for running four or five second-unit players at once is disturbing and destructive. In so many ways, he needs to change.
Yet he also has the support of the Warriors’ most important player. That has to count for something.
If it doesn’t, that’s truly shocking.
Dan Favale is a firm believer in the three-pointer as well as the notion that defense doesn’t always win championships. His musings can be found at Bleacherreport.com in addition to TheHoopDoctors.com.
