NBA Hoops

LeBron James enthused by idea of Mark Jackson coaching Lakers

LeBron James enthused by idea of Mark Jackson coaching Lakers

LeBron James has a surprising preference for the Lakers’ next head coach.

After news of Frank Vogel’s firing reached the press before it reached Vogel himself, the Lakers are in the market for a new coach. According to The Athletic, James would be “very enthused” by the potential of Mark Jackson succeeding Vogel.

Jackson coached the Warriors for three seasons, beginning in 2011 and concluding in 2014. The team made the playoffs in his last two years, but Jackson was fired after a 51-31 season in which the Warriors lost to the Clippers in the first round of the NBA playoffs in seven games.

Jackson’s tenure with the Warriors was complicated. On one hand, his leadership deserves at least some credit for igniting the splash brothers, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, as such a dynamic shooting threat that would eventually yield three NBA championships.

Mark Jackson coached the Warriors as they were rising, but was fired before they became a dynasty.Corbis/Icon Sportswire via Getty

However, after Jackson was fired, Adrian Wojnarowski, then reporting for Yahoo Sports, wrote the following: “Jackson clashed constantly with management and struggled to manage his coaching staff during his Warriors tenure. Jackson’s lack of interest in game preparation and reluctance to practice despite a mostly young and gifted roster played a part in management’s reluctance to commit long term to him, league sources said.”

In fairness, Wojnarowski also wrote that Jackson was popular with most of Golden State’s “key players”.

Jackson, 57, ranks fifth in NBA career assists all-time, and he is currently a color commentator on ESPN’s top team.

The fact that no one has hired him as coach for eight years speaks to concern among NBA front offices about the friction he had in Golden State, but it’s also reasonable to argue that his motivational tactics have become underrated by the passage of time.

LeBron James…

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