LeBron James Touts Former Warriors Coach as Lakers’ Next Leader

Getty LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.

As the Golden State Warriors prepare for a playoff run, Dubs’ public enemy No. 1 LeBron James is again playing general manager with the Los Angeles Lakers, this time leaking information that may influence who the team hires as its next head coach.

The Lakers parted ways with former coach Frank Vogel after a season in which the team missed both the Western Conference Playoffs and the NBA Play-In Tournament after finishing in 11th place in the conference. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski broke the news that Vogel was out just minutes after the season ended. The coach was asked about his status with the team in the press conference following the Lakers’ final regular season game against the Denver Nuggets on Sunday, April 10. Vogel responded with the now near-infamous quote: “I haven’t been told s***.”

Two days later, James was already making known his preferences for the team’s next head coach, as the four-time MVP and 19-year NBA veteran who averaged 30.3 points per game this season enters the final year of his contract in Los Angeles. Sam Amick of The Athletic reported Monday, April 12, that James was high on former Warriors head coach and current ESPN NBA analyst Mark Jackson as the Lakers’ next hire.

“Sources say James would be very enthused by the prospect of Mark Jackson landing the job,” Amick wrote. “But as history tells us, that doesn’t mean it will actually happen.”

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NBA GM Sounds Off on Chances Lakers, LeBron Land Mark Jackson

Getty Former head coach Mark Jackson calls out a play for the Golden State Warriors.

Any time James speaks up, the NBA universe listens. And usually, several members of it sound off. The situation surrounding Jackson and the Lakers’ head coaching vacancy has proven no different.

Sean Deveney of Heavy.com spoke with a general manager of a Western Conference opponent of the Lakers who expounded upon the “disaster” that is the situation in Los Angeles and the tight rope the team’s brass needs to navigate if they hope to keep James content.

The trouble the Lakers have is that the coaches they want look at that situation and say, ‘No, no thanks.’ Because it is a disaster, there is a lot of cleanup to do. But they also need a big enough name that LeBron is going to be happy, the organization is going to be happy, the season tickets are going to be happy. So you need someone who is desperate to get back into coaching but still has a big name. That’s Mark Jackson.

He left Golden State under a cloud. There were accusations, both ways, of spying and being underhanded. He felt the front office did not trust him, and they felt he did not trust them. That’s why he has not gotten another job. So he’ll take what he can get, and that could be the Lakers.

Jackson served as head coach of the Warriors for three seasons between 2011-14. The team won 47 games in his second season as head coach and 51 games in his final year. Golden State hired Steve Kerr to lead the team in 2015, which ended up the first of five straight trips for the Warriors to the NBA Finals.

Warriors Poised For Potentially Deep Playoff Run

GettyStephen Curry and Jordan Poole talk during a game between the Golden State Warriors and the Minnesota Timberwolves.

At this point, Jackson is more or less ancient history for the Warriors — a face from the era just before Steph Curry and company became the NBA’s most dominant team. As the old cliché goes, the future for the Dubs is now, as injuries have ruined Golden State’s previous two seasons and age is beginning to become a threat to Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, all of whom are now well into their 30s.

Warriors veteran Andre Iguodala said Thursday that this is the type of team that could get bounced early or end up winning the whole thing. Much of that will depend on Curry’s health. The two-time league MVP sprained a ligament in his foot during a game against the Boston Celtics on March 16 and has not played since. He was set to scrimmage in practice for the first time on Thursday, with Kerr saying that Curry would likely play in the team’s playoff opener against the Nuggets on Saturday, April 16, if the scrimmage went well.

All indications Thursday were that the Dubs’ practice scrimmage went off without a hitch, which is a good sign for Curry’s availability and the Warriors’ chances to advance through the first round of the playoffs and beyond. Golden State held off the Dallas Mavericks to retain the No. 3 seed in the West, meaning they will avoid the NBA’s best regular season team in the Phoenix Suns until a possible matchup in the Conference Finals.

However, the Warriors are in line to face the youthful juggernaut and No. 2 seed Memphis Grizzlies in Round 2 — a matchup likely to serve as something of a measuring stick for Golden’s State’s overall health, the effects of age and injury on its Big 3 and the team’s chances to win another title, either this postseason or in the future.