One of the people vying for the vacant coaching spot in the Bay Area is joining Mark Jackson on the bench as his assistant. Mike Malone will be heading with Jackson to the Golden State Warriors, and he'll likely add to the type of profile the team ownership and management wants to take over the next few years.
Malone was one of Mike Brown's assistants in Cleveland and helped craft the team's defensive philosophy. Cleveland was constantly one of the best defensive teams in the NBA (although LeBron James had a lot to do with that), and Malone deserves some credit for that. After Brown was not retained, he then went to the New Orleans Hornets and was the head lieutenant of Monty Williams, where the Hornets finished tenth in defensive efficiency according to HoopData (although again, having Chris Paul and David West helps a lot in that regard).
Now in Golden State he'll be asked to mold a similar defensive product. Unfortunately, Malone will need a lot of personnel upgrading for that type of rebranding to occur. No one on this Golden State team can be considered a defensive-minded player, and the Warriors were near the bottom in defensive efficiency last season under Keith Smart (who promised similar defensive upgrades). It'll be hard to say whether Malone can provide that boost unless some guys get moved. Like almost everyone.
For more reaction to the Malone hire, head over to Golden State of Mind to see how Warriors fans feel. What do you think of assistant coach Malone? Let us know in the comments!