A scathing report this week alleged that Golden State Warriors head coach Mark Jackson had unsuccessfully searched for another gig in recent months, which Jackson strongly denied on Wednesday when talking to the local media. Warriors All-Star Stephen Curry also voiced support for his coach. Per CSN Bay Area and the Contra Costa Times:
Jackson, who has so far worked through differences with management and ownership, claimed this was among numerous inaccuracies contained within a story by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports on Tuesday.
The report cited not only that Jackson was looking to leave the Warriors for another job, specifically with the Clippers or the Nets, but that he also went weeks without talking to former assistant Michael Malone, who has issued a denial of his own.
“I’m not going to comment on everything,” Jackson said. “First of all, Mike Malone commented and said that his part was a lie. So there you have that. Second of all, it’s poor reporting by Wojnarowski if you decided and knew this to hold on to it until (Tuesday). That’s blockbuster stuff.
“So, not true. None of it was true. I’m not going to go any further. This is my job and I’m thrilled to death to be the head coach of the Golden State Warriors.”
A day after Mark Jackson’s actions were questioned regarding the demotion of assistant coach Brian Scalabrine, the Warriors’ best player, Stephen Curry, came to the defense of his embattled coach.
“Obviously, we didn’t know the ins and outs of what happened and what the details were,” Curry said Wednesday. “That’s not our place to know. Our job is to go out and play basketball, win games, and that’s what we’re focused on. When it comes to being united, our team is as strong as it’s ever been, and regardless of what’s being said, we’re all together, and we back Coach Jackson 100 percent because his track record has been pretty solid since he’s been here.”
“The reasoning we got yesterday was what Coach said, that he expects his staff to be tight,” he said. “Everybody can have different opinions, but he expects them to be tied together when they leave the room. If that isn’t the case, he’s got to make a decision. What happened beyond that, I don’t know, but that’s a good enough message for me, and we can move on.”
“The transformation we’ve had since Coach Jackson has been here is obviously evident, and it’s raised the expectations,” he said. “We’re on pace for the best record in 20 years. That’s a sign of good change. I understand what he’s done for us being in the locker room every single day just observing from my rookie year to now. Mostly all of that is because of him. So what people say, what criticism he takes, I know he takes it on the chin and it doesn’t waver his confidence about leading us. That’s what I admire most about him.”
