Lakers, it’s your move.
After three years of coaching the Golden State Warriors and turning the franchise around, Mark Jackson is out as head coach of the team. The news comes days after the Warriors were eliminated from the playoffs in the first rounds at the hands of the Los Angeles Clippers. During his tenure as coach, Jackson had a record of 121-109.
This season, the Warriors went 51-31, the best regular season record since 1991-92 and it marked the first time since then that the team had reached back-to-back playoff appearances. Jackson was the third coach in franchise history to lead Golden State to a 50 win season, joining a club that only boasts Don Nelson and Alvin Attles.
OS REWIND: Should The Golden State Warriors Really Fire Mark Jackson?
General Manager Bob Myers had this to say about Jackson’s departure:
“Mark has accomplished many good things during his three years with the organization, including his role in helping elevate this team into a better position than it was when he arrived nearly 36 months ago. We’re appreciative of his dedication and commitment since his arrival and are extremely grateful for his contributions. However, as an organization, we simply feel it’s best to move in a different direction at this time.“
Golden State will be moving across the Bay to San Francisco in 2017 and there have been reports of Jackson having rifts with management after the team did not re-negotiate a long term deal with him past 2015, but rather just picked up the option on his contract. Firing his assistants right before the playoffs and being eliminated from the first round certainly didn’t help his cause either.
Steph Curry might be the most fucked out of this. He’s under contract until 2017.