Rumors have put the story of Mark Jackson's success as Golden State Warriors coach beneath the story of where his future lies.
The importance of Stephen Curry’s public support of Mark Jackson
Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson already had a questionable future, but after demoting assistant coach Brian Scalabrine, he may need all the support he can from his star player.
Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Tuesday that Jackson's re-assignment of first-year assistant Brian Scalabrine was a move that added to the list of reasons why the Warriors' coach has a tenuous future with the club. But on Wednesday, Warriors point guard Stephen Curry had an important message for reporters, according to the San Jose Mercury News' Marcus Thompson.
“I love coach and everything he’s about,” Curry told reporters after practice on Wednesday.
The comment is more than Curry putting his opinion on record. It’s likely a star’s message to a front office operating in a star’s league.
First, let’s step back for a moment to understand where Jackson finds himself.
The re-assignment of Scalabrine, a first-year assistant, to the D-League’s Santa Cruz Warriors came because, as Wojnarowski reported, the Golden State front office had no plans letting Scalabrine walk. The organization is allowing Jackson to have a complete say in his coaching staff so long as he’s head coach, but the move signaled a possible “difference in philosophies” between coach and front office -- the same reason that Jackson cited to Inside Bay Area in making the decision to cut his ties with Scalabrine in the middle of the season.
Wojnarowski reported that last year's lead assistant, Mike Malone, didn't speak with Jackson for weeks at a time. Though that seems hard to believe, others like the San Jose Mercury News' Tim Kawakami noted a few years back that Malone's popularity as an up-and-coming coach was at least perceived to be a problem within Jackson's camp. Malone often led huddles in games, and Jackson seemed to play up the head-coaching candidacy of assistant Pete Myers rather than speaking of Malone.
On top of it all, Wojnarowski reported that Jackson had been hunting other NBA coaching jobs while employed by Golden State.
So what will it take for Golden State owner Joe Lacob and his front office to consider extending Jackson’s contract? It’s obviously a two-way street, in that Jackson must want to return.
Winning certainly gives both sides a reason to work things out. As of Thursday, Jackson has led Golden State to a 114-105 record in his third year of a rebuilding project, and the Warriors are 44-27 in a tough Western Conference this season. Jackson is backed by his best player and probably the majority of his roster.
The only hits to Jackson’s resume that we know of are his dealings with assistant coaches. And arguably, re-assigning Scalabrine isn’t a problem -- the coach is willing to run the locker room on his terms and unafraid to let personalities divide his team. In any case, things aren’t festering. Dysfunction isn’t a part of the Warriors, Jackson told Inside Bay Area’s Diamond Leung.
“We are excited about what’s taken place up until this point -- the culture, the environment with no dysfunction at all,” Jackson said Tuesday. “That’s comical.”
The way Jackson has gone about things should be concerning, though.
An NBA head coaching position isn’t just about motivating basketball players or drawing up plays. It’s not only about tinkering with rotations and working with a front office to build a team that fits around a philosophy. Media duties are a big part of it as well. Head coaches are not the unknown faces of a staff but the face, and voice, of the team.
It's a business, and if the Golden State franchise isn't comfortable dealing with all the noise created by Jackson -- there was also Jackson's accusation of then-Nuggets coach George Karl of sending hit men at the Warriors that became a media firestorm -- then maybe contract negotiations won't happen.
But with Curry’s support, Jackson has the leverage in working it out with Golden State or chasing a job after next season.
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