Mark Jackson responds to Warriors owner Joe Lacob's criticism
Former Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson responded Sunday to comments made last week by team co-owner Joe Lacob, claiming the owner never got to know him, Inside Bay Area Sports' Diamond Leung reports.
Last week, Lacob explained to a group of venture capitalists why he fired Jackson after last season. Lacob cited Jackson's inability to "get along with anybody else in the organization" and his failure to hire the best assistant coaches.
On Sunday, Jackson told members of the congregation at True Love Worship Center International in Reseda, Calif., that Lacob had “put me on blast.”
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“[Lacob] said I was good for nothing, an owner that knew me for three years and spent a couple of minutes around me, an owner that had the audacity to say that 200 folks don’t like me in the business,” Jackson said, in recorded comments.
Lacob has since apologized for his comments.
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Warriors point guard Stephen Currycalled Lacob's comments a "distraction" amid the team's hot start to the season under first-year head coach Steve Kerr. Golden State's 18-2 record is the best in the NBA.
The Warriors hired Jackson away from ESPN in 2011 despite his having no previous coaching experience at any level. Jackson led the Warriors to the playoffs in 2013 and 2014—the first back-to-back postseasons for Golden State since 1991 and 1992. The Warriors went 121-109 during in Jackson’s three seasons as coach.
