NBA: Is it time for Mark Jackson to get another shot as a head coach?

It’s time for Mark Jackson to get another shot in the NBA

At some point over the next few months, we’re going to have an NBA offseason. Whether that’s in October after the conclusion of the season or before, it’s going to happen. As the offseason comes, many teams are already seeking out their next head coach to lead their organization to the next phase.

Among some of the head-coaching openings, there are serious contenders such as the Brooklyn Nets and Houston Rockets who could be looking for their next head coach to take them to the championship. Then, there are teams like the New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls, and Cleveland Cavaliers that are searching for a coach to come in and establish a culture while growing the team’s young talent.

Among all the candidates in the running for these jobs, there are some coaches that legitimately deserve to be hired as head coaches such as Ime Udoka, Kenny Atkinson, and Becky Hammon – to name a few. Then, there’s a whole tier of others that perhaps might not have the resume of some of their contemporaries.

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Yet, with all those candidates, one name that can’t seem to get legit consideration is Mark Jackson.

Why no interest in Mark Jackson?

There’s been a whole bunch of speculation as to why Mark Jackson hasn’t gotten a second go at head coaching after a somewhat successful stint coaching the Golden State Warriors.

One of the big concerns is whether Jackson is fully equipped to fit in the modern NBA offense. Many often point to his past reluctance to want to use the 3-point shot, as well as his usage of isolation offense.

We might never know what the reason has been for Jackson’s absence as a head coach in recent years, but if Tom Thibodeau can get a third opportunity then perhaps it might be time for Mark Jackson to get a second one.

What can Mark Jackson bring to an organization?

What we can look it is what positive things Mark Jackson can bring to an organization if he is hired to be a head coach again, which frankly is a lot. Looking at Jackson’s three years in Golden State, what was clear was Jackson connected with players to build a culture, consistently improved the teams’ defense, and in turn, improved the team’s record.

When it comes to building a culture, that’s what Jackson did in Golden State, and that’s what teams all across the league hope to do when hiring a head coach. Jackson might not have been around for the championships in Golden State, but you can’t doubt he helped lay the foundation.

From his playing days with the Knicks and Pacers, if there’s one thing Jackson brought as his calling card to the NBA it was strong defense. When Jackson took over the Warriors they had the 27th ranked defense in the NBA, his next year with the team he improved them by 13 spots bringing them to the 14th ranked defense in the league. That led to his final season with the team which saw a 10 spot improvement to an elite 4th ranked defense.

The defense is still important to the modern NBA, with five of the last six NBA champions having a top 10 ranked defense. The old saying still stands, defense wins championships.

With Jackson’s defense also came wins though, his first season coaching the Warriors resulted in a putrid 23 wins for the season. In his second year, he improved the team’s wins by a whopping 24 victories leading to a 47-win season. That led to his final season which saw the Warriors then break the 50-win threshold reaching 51 wins.

Jackson in a limited time showed that he was a teacher, a coach focused and committed to improvement which he did well during his small stint.

Who could be interested in Mark Jackson?

Any team interested in a possible coaching change should look to Jackson but that would be a bit of a cop-out. The places that truly seem to be the ideal fit for Jackson would be the two franchises located in the Big Apple. Those franchises being the Brooklyn Nets, and the New York Knicks.

Starting with Brooklyn, Jackson feels like the perfect mind to come in and connect with star players Kevin Durant, and Kyrie Irving. Jackson being a former player is just the type of guy that would connect with the team’s superstar duo. His time as a player would get the respect of Durant and Irving too.

With Jackson’s focus on defense, the Nets’ already 8th ranked defense should improve even more, and with a star duo of Durant and Irving, Jackson shouldn’t have to worry much about figuring out an offense.

When it comes to the Knicks, you can make the case that it’s a logical idea. Jackson is a former Knicks player, winning Rookie of the Year with the organization back in 1988. With Jackson going to the Knicks, New York should hope for the same kind of improvement and culture focus that he had with Golden State.

Ideally, the Knicks roster feels like one that could really benefit from Jackson fostering it. Young players Frank Ntilikina and Mitchell Robinson have already flashed high-quality defense while other young players like R.J. Barrett and Kevin Knox could benefit from a coach that really wants to invest in them. With rumors over the past few years that Jackson wants to coach the Knicks badly, it might be a wise move to interview him.

Mark Jackson might come with questions, sure his offensive philosophy might need to improve, yes some of his strictness on young players could be tough as well but Jackson has been away from coaching for about six years now there are probably some changes he’s going to make this time around.

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It’s time for Mark Jackson to get another shot in the NBA, and this could be the perfect offseason for it to all come to fruition.

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