I can't say I'm happy about him leaving the Warriors, but good for him. He did an excellent job stepping in as interim coach during the first half of the season. I knew he would have to make the tough decisions, as I knew teams looking for head coaches would be hunting for him. Glad he can coach the Lakers now, where he played for I think 9 years.
He will obviously finish up this post season with the Warriors. If only he'd gotten there in time to coach Kobe! Haha.
I think it's a big gamble, but Luke has major pull from his dad.
It's amazing when you say these three teams: Golden State Warriors, LA Clippers and LA Lakers, and the Lakers are the shittiest team.
Good for him. I think it might be better that he doesn't have Kobe on the team. A young head coach needs to grow into that position (by making his own mistakes) - and it's good he can learn with a team that should only get better.
^^^ Any coach is going to have an easier time without Kobe on the squad!
Of course! What else would you expect from a Wildcat, U of A Tucson graduate? Nothing but the best! He's following the footsteps of another great coach, NBA champion, U of A graduate, Steve Kerr.
I liked the old man. One of my favorite NBA analysts ever.
I do not understand the timing of this announcement. The second week of the NBA playoffs?
I don't think there's much coaching going on in Golden State. They have Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Harrison Barnes, Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston, Andrew Bogut, LeAndro Barbosa, Maurice Speights. They are loaded with talent!
They didn't win with Mark Jackson with basically the same team. I'm guessing there is a difference there.
The main difference is Steph, Klay, Draymond, and Harrison are much better now than they were with Mark. Give credit to Kerr though, he's maximizing their talent.
Mark Jackson was with the Pacers when I lived in Indy and had season tickets. So l like him. But he proved to me he has to be worst coach in the history of the NBA after seeing what Steve Kerr (and Walton) have done.
I can't believe he'll get another job. But he will. Some idiot owner will hire him.
What logic are you using to determine Mark is the worst coach of all time???
When he got there they were one of the worst teams in the league, when he left they were winning 50 games a season. Of course Kerr winning the title with basically the same team Mark had is not a good look for Mark, but Mark is a decent coach. Mark won't lead you to a championship, but he can get you to the playoffs and potentially win a first round series. I would say in today's NBA he's an above average coach. No doubt Kerr is a better coach though.
Jackson's team lost in the first round off the play-offs, right?
Virtually the same team won the NBA title and the set the all time win record.
The logical conclusion is coaching. Jackson might not be worst of all time. That might be Kurt Rambis
Yeah in Mark's final year they lost in the first round (that series went to 7 games). The year before though the Warriors made it to the second round. As long as you know what you're getting with Mark you'll be fine, he's not a good enough coach to lead a team to a title, but he'll lead you the playoffs. I'm not saying he's a great coach, but he's good enough to get another opportunity at being a head coach. Hell they gave the Philly coach an extension lol.
Stephen A Smith says if Mark Jackson was the coach last year, they would have won the title. Lol. I think his hairline is affecting his brain.
Lots of former Arizona Wildcats becoming great coaches! Kerr and Walton, Damon Stousamire now at U of Pacific, Josh Pastner at Memphis. Expect TJ McConnell to be a coach eventually. Olson and now Miller are great mentors for these guys!
U of A Wildcats are breeding grounds for champions!
Arizona alum here also. I've long felt the number of players we've put in the NBA over the past 20 years must be in the top 5 of all Division I schools. Players, now coaches, I'm pretty impressed and proud.
Next year's Lakers' won/loss record will illustrate the difference between being a great coach and happening to be the coach of the best players. You'll see. Walton is no Steve Kerr. Furthermore, when Kerr loses all but his two best players and immediately competes and wins three (more) championships, you can mention him in the same sentence as Phil Jackson.
Otherwise, they're just coaches of the best players in the league at a time during which the rules enforcement favor their style of play.
Lol I forgot to put Luke Walton's name in the title. Wake and bake.