Well, the Lacob/Guber era has gotten off to a bold and daring transition. With Keith Smart now gone, the Golden State Warriors seemed to desire a coach who would provide a new defensive energy to a team that's lacked it over the years. ESPN analyst Mark Jackson ended up being the hire. Click here to check our original update on the coaching hire by Jonathan Santiago.
Jackson is a relative coaching novice. The number of years he's coached in the NBA is no higher than the number zero, which should give plenty of Warriors fans pause at this new news. Of course, coaching experience is hardly a prerequisite to success in the league. The obvious parallel is current Boston Celtics head coach Doc Rivers, who turned out to be a fine head coach for the Orlando Magic (he was named Coach of the Year in his second season), and went from the broadcast booth (like Jackson) to the Celtics, and eventually won an NBA championship there.
Jackson has hardly impressed NBA geeks with his analysis on ESPN and ABC, instead reverting to dumbed-down cliches and poor man's analysis to try and appeal to the common basketball fan. Jackson has proven he can be a smart guy. That shouldn't disqualify him from being a solid NBA coach.
The fact is, the slate is blank with Jackson. He could succeed, he could fail, or he could end up like every other Warrior coach of the past two decades--a bland batch of "meh". A lot more will depend on the personnel decisions the Warriors make, and the assistant coaching staff the Warriors plan to surround Jackson with.
What do you think of the hire Warriors fans?