The Golden State Warriors made a tough decision when they fired Mark Jackson last summer after a 51-31 season, but so far it looks like the right one. First-year head coach Steve Kerr has the same Warriors off to a 16-2 start and looking like one of the best teams in the Western Conference.
Plus, no one really liked Jackson, anyway.
During a recent public appearance, Warriors co-owner Joe Lacob opened up about some of the reasons why the team decided to fire Jackson.
“Part of it was that (Jackson) couldn’t get along with anybody else in the organization,” Lacob said, via Diamond Leung of The Oakland Tribune. “And look, he did a great job, and I’ll always compliment him in many respects, but you can’t have 200 people in the organization not like you.”
While it may be surprising to hear Lacob bash Jackson publicly, he wasn’t saying anything we didn’t already know. This is the same Jackson who forced Brian Scalabrine to be reassigned when everyone in the organization was reportedly impressed with Scalabrine’s performance on the job. Jackson also went weeks without speaking to former assistant coach Michael Malone during the 2012-2013 season.
Lacob said that Jackson’s inability to assemble a competent staff of assistants whom get could get along with was another reason for his dismissal.
“Right now, (Kerr) looks great,” Lacob said. “I think he will be great. And he did the one big thing that I wanted more than anything else from Mark Jackson he just wouldn’t do, in all honesty, which is hire the very best.
“Carte blanche. Take my wallet. Do whatever it is to get the best assistants there are in the world. Period. End of story. Don’t want to hear it. And (Jackson’s) answer … was, ‘Well, I have the best staff.’ No you don’t. And so with Steve, very, very different.”
The Warriors had some good seasons under Jackson, but Kerr has a chance to prove they could have been much better. He’s off to a great start.
