Dubs’ coaching carousel came to end with Kerr
No such thing as a sure thing, eh? For decades the Warriors were the surest bet in the NBA. If they hired a head coach, you didn’t even have to look up from your copy of “The Rick
Barry Story” to pass judgment. It likely was a dispiriting mistake.
The forehead-slapping tradition began when longtime Warriors coach Al Attles hung up his whistle.
John Bach was a well-intentioned hire when he succeeded Attles. But in three seasons he averaged 30 wins.
George Karl showed promise but was caught up in palace intrigue 146 games into his assignment when Don Nelson decided he wanted to coach again. Nellie was hailed as just what the Warriors needed. He led the Dubs to the
playoffs in his first six seasons with the team. He didn’t finish his seventh. A bitter clash between Nelson and Chris Webber ripped the club apart, plunging the Warriors into a 16-year Goldilocks search for The Coach.
Submitted, a list of the 10 Warriors coaches who followed Nellie, interims included:
Bob Lanier, Rick Adelman, P.J. Carlesimo, Garry St. Jean, Dave Cowens, Brian Winters, Eric Musselman, Mike Montgomery, Don Nelson (ver. 2.0), Keith Smart.
So when Mark Jackson came along, he was met with polite smiles. He was a risk, having never been an NBA head coach. And guess what? He was the guy.
For three seasons, anyway. Under Jackson, the Warriors won 23 games, then 47, then 51. He got them to two postseason appearances. Stephen
Curry blossomed on Jackson’s watch. So naturally, on May 6, 2014 the Warriors showed Jackson the door. Talk about taking a risk.
Or maybe there was more to it. Last summer, while on a tour to promote his book “Sixth Man,” former Warrior Andre Iguodala floated this version of Jackson’s departure from Golden State. It wasn’t about performance-based criteria.
Asked if he thought Jackson was black-balled, Iguodala said, “I do. Yes. Absolutely.”
It is well known that Jackson is an ordained minister. It
also is well known that Warriors COO and Hall of Famer Rick Welts is openly gay. Their philosophies were at odds, Iguodala said.
“It was widespread, Iguodala said. “Everyone was talking about that.”
In the immediate aftermath of Jackson’s firing, everyone was falling back on a familiar talking point. To wit: What is it about the Warriors and head coaches? It seems even when they win, they lose.
”Mark did win,” Warriors general manager Bob Myers acknowledged to this newspaper, “but moving forward we want to continue to win in bigger ways if we can. That’s what people expect. That’s what we expect.”
Jackson has gone on to be a broadcaster for ABC and ESPN. The Warriors landed on their feet as well. They hired Steve Kerr, another untested NBA head coaching commodity. Five NBA Finals and three championship banners later, they now mostly confine their drama to the court.