Public comments following Darren Erman‘s firing from both Mark Jackson and Warriors brass paint the situation as unrelated to basketball or performance, per Diamond Leung of Bay Area News Group. GM Bob Myers offered a statement of support to Jackson following the news. “We believe that Mark is fully capable, and we’re confident in his ability to keep going in the right direction, keep propelling us like he has all year, and we believe that he’s going to continue to be successful like he has been,” Myers said. “We believe in his ability the rest of the way.” Here’s more from the Pacific Division:
- Jackson told Leung he’s confident his team can overcome the latest shakeup of the Warriors coaching staff, which comes on the heels of the demotion of former assistant Brian Scalabrine. “This is not the norm,” Jackson said. “That’s OK because really in both decisions, the right decisions were made. You move forward. To me, I think it’s a great time for us as a team and an organization. To still be standing, this isn’t new.”
- Tim Kawakami of Bay Area News Group thinks that some of the turmoil facing the Warriors coaching staff is part of a conscious effort by owner Joe Lacob to put pressure on Jackson to see how he and the team handle it.
- Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni believes Steve Nash will play again this season despite his recurring injuries and soreness, and hopes the point guard won’t be forced into early retirement. He commented to reporters, including Mike Bresnahan of The Los Angeles Times, on the possibility of Nash being waived under the stretch provision, and not being picked up by another team. “I think it’s way too early to surmise that,” said D’Antoni. “If it happens, it happens and he’s had an unbelievable career, a Hall of Famer for sure.”
- After a blowout loss to the Warriors last night, Kings coach Michael Malone is still optimistic about what he’s building in Sacramento, he tells Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. “We knew full well that it wasn’t going to be easy when we took over the job here in Golden State [where Malone was an assistant], and when I took the job in Sacramento,” said Malone. “You just have to lay a foundation and kind of pound that rock every day, and that’s what we’ve tried to do.”