SAN ANTONIO, TX - MAY 08: Head coach Mark Jackson talks with Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors during Game Two of the Western Conference Semifinals of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at AT&T Center on May 8, 2013 in San Antonio, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Could Mark Jackson become the next head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers?
Well he hasn’t been interviewed.
Mark Jackson was one of the greatest point guards in NBA history. That brilliance translated to the NBA when he went from the television booth to coaching sidelines.
Jackson was named head coach of the Golden State Warriors on June 6, 2011, the first head coach hired by new owners Joe Lacob and Peter Guber.
In three seasons, Jackson, 54, went 121-109 and developed All Stars Steph Curry and Klay Thompson.
Jackson was fired in 2014, despite leading the dubs to consecutive playoff appearances for the first time in over 20 years with the Warriors.
The following season, current Warriors head coach Steve Kerr guided the Warriors to their first NBA title in 40 years.
Hindsight is always 20/20 and the Warriors did won a couple of championships.
But why was Mark Jackson let go?
“I think a small circle of ownership and [Joe]Lacob [Warriors owner] made up his mind that Mark was a certain way and it formed a narrative of how the other owners would feel about him,” former Warriors staffer, Otis Hughley told me on the Scoop B Radio Podcast.
Since Jackson’s 2014 firing and the Warriors’ multiple championships, Jackson has been named as a coaching candidate for coaching jobs but nothing has materialized.
“It’s just been real hard, but Mark doesn’t worry about that,” Otis Hughley insisted on the Scoop B Radio Podcast.
“He’s the kind of guy who lives by a certain standard and he doesn’t let the way folks think or what they say, dictate how he feels or how he conducts his life. He still has a job, he would like to coach, but that’s not all and all with him. He’s a man of God and I’ve got a lot of respect for him and this game is really missing out [by] not having this guy back in, because he impacts a lot of lives.”
Meanwhile in Lakers Land: Ty Lue becoming the next head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers has been ‘a thing’ for a while.
Lue is a former NBA Champion as a head coach and has had two interviews with the Lakers.
Ty Lue is believed to be up there because of ties to LeBron James.
IF Ty Lue becomes the Los Angeles Lakers’ next head coach, the foreshadowing of this pic is crazy!
But other names have surfaced, too.
Jason Kidd’s been mentioned.
Kidd posted a 139–152 record in his 291 games coached in Milwaukee before he was fired last season.
Kidd was higher on the list during the NBA season. Magic Johnson was also calling the shots back then, as well.
Will Philadelphia 76ers assistant coach, Monty Williams choose the Los Angeles Lakers as the team he will coach next season?
Per Lonzo Wire’s Christian Rivas:
According to Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times, former Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue and Philadelphia 76ers assistant Monty Williams didn’t leave their second interviews with jobs offers, nor were they told when their decision would be made:
Neither Williams nor Lue were offered the job and neither was given a timetable on when the Lakers will make their decision, said the people who were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
The Lakers also interviewed Miami Heat assistant Juwan Howard, but he’s viewed as a distant third in the race. While there are rumors that the team will interview more candidates in the coming weeks, expect the decision to come down to Lue and Williams.
Multiple reports in the last 24 hours state that the Phoenix Suns have an interest in Monty Williams.
On Wednesday, Marc Stein of the New York Times reported the possibility of Phoenix hiring Monty Williams to fill the role is “gaining real momentum.”
Stein noted the job is his “if he wants it” but pointed out the fact Williams could have multiple opportunities means he “has the rare ability to be choosy about where he wants to coach next.”
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported in April the Suns were “planning to target” Williams, who is currently an assistant coach with the Philadelphia 76ers, after they fired head coach Igor Kokoskov. However, he also noted the Los Angeles Lakers were planning to interview him a second time, as well.
Williams was a player before he was a coach, entering the league out of Notre Dame as a first-round draft pick of the New York Knicks in 1994. He played nine seasons for the Knicks, San Antonio Spurs, Denver Nuggets, Orlando Magic and 76ers.
He was then an assistant coach for the Portland Trail Blazers before he became the head coach of the New Orleans Hornets/Pelicans prior to the 2010-11 season. He spent five seasons in New Orleans and accumulated a 173-221 record with two playoff appearances, although he lost in the first round both times.
Williams has been the associate head coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder and an assistant with Philadelphia since.
As for Phoenix, it finished with the worst record in the Western Conference (19-63) this past season. Organizational stability is also a question mark following the decision to fire Kokoskov after just one season.
According to controversial Twitter account, Igotsources: The Phoenix Suns have an edge over the Los Angeles Lakers in the bidding war for Williams because the Suns are willing to give more front office input to Williams as way to to pry him away from Lakers.
Igotsources also claims that the Lakers would never consider such idea and that a decision on Williams’ part is expected by this weekend.
The Los Angeles Lakers have a lot to figure out between now, the NBA Draft and the NBA’s free agency period this July.