Mark Jackson may already be coaching for his next job.
The Golden State Warriors head coach has long been considered a potential candidate to lose his job, and recent events haven’t helped his cause. Not only did the Warriors fail to improve upon their sixth-place standing in the Western Conference, but his assistants have been dropping like flies.
First, there was Brian Scalabrine. More recently, there was Darren Erman, who ESPN The Magazine‘s Chris Broussard revealed was canned for recording private conversations. Neither of those dismissals have reflected well on Jackson. According to Grantland’s Zach Lowe, his departure may now be inevitable:
The atmosphere has bordered on poisonous, though to the credit of Jackson, his staff, and his players, it has not spilled onto the court. The team plays hard, they’re very good, and they have a chance to make noise in the playoffs despite the ill-timed injury to Andrew Bogut. The players have almost universally spoken up, and quite loudly, in Jackson’s defense. But Jackson has continued to play five-man bench units, and the Dubs’ offense, mediocre all season, goes through stretches in which it is over-reliant on isolation. A full 52 percent of Golden State’s possessions this season ended after two or fewer passes, the highest such share in the league, per SportVU data provided to Grantland.
The consensus around the league is that Jackson is very unlikely to return next season, barring a longer-than-expected playoff run from the Warriors. That is always subject to change, and the team has not made a final decision yet. They have not reached out directly to any potential replacements, per sources around the league. Jackson can still save his job, but the smart money is on Golden State having a new coach next season.
Point of emphasis here: Nothing is final. Though Jackson may be coaching for his next position in theory, there is still time for him to save his job.
If he guides the Warriors through a deep postseason push, there’s no way owner Joe Lacob and the rest of the front office can justify firing him. What exactly constitutes a “deep postseason push” becomes the issue then. Is an upset of the Los Angeles Clippers enough? Probably not. The Warriors made it through to the second round last year too. But if they manage to give their second-round opponent a run for their money, or, against all odds, play into the Western Conference Finals, dismissing Jackson becomes tough.
As of now, most fans and media members appear split on Jackson. He’s both good and bad. He has a way of motivating his players, yet he often insists on playing five bench players at a time, which hasn’t been a boon for Golden State’s offense. Despite an excess of firepower, the team’s offensive attack has been mediocre all year.
Keeping him around, though, may be important. Players have been forthcoming and outright in their support of Jackson, specifically Stephen Curry. The Warriors already have him on the NBA’s most reasonable contract. He is their franchise cornerstone. If he wants Jackson around, you retain him.
Don’t piss Curry off. It’s that simple. It’s that necessary.
All of this becomes moot, of course, if Jackson coaches himself out of his hot seat. There’s still time for him to save his job and his reputation, and as Lowe points out, he and the players have done a great job ensuring that surrounding dysfunction doesn’t carry onto the court.
Will that, along with Curry’s public support, be enough to keep Jackson in Oakland?
That’s one of many questions the Warriors must ask themselves and subsequently address once their postseason, for better or worse, comes to an end.
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.
