Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving will carry a lot of weight in who is chosen as the next head coach of Brooklyn, just as they had done with Kenny Atkinson. That’s why Tyronn Lue had a strong chance of landing the job, because Irving wanted to reunite with the coach who helped him win a ring.
Durant, however, could push Mark Jackson to Brooklyn.
That rumor gained momentum throughout the league, something that ESPN’s Brian Windhorst discussed in his “Hoop Collective” podcast (the tip of the Real GM hat):
“If you are paying close attention to social media. Rich Kleiman, who is Kevin Durant’s business partner and very influential, recently tweeted about Mark Jackson.
“He didn’t tweet, ‘I want Mark Jackson to train the nets’, but there was a story in the New York Post just this past week where he was postulated about Mark Jackson or Jason Kidd, who obviously had already been with the nets and he left after a year. You know, (Kleiman) practically said he liked the idea. It is known that Mark Jackson and Kevin Durant have a good relationship. Those tweets and the possible connection of Jackson / Nets with Durant have not passed. unnoticed in the NBA. “
There are leaps to the next conclusion in there – so take this item with a whole can of final salt – plus there are the logistical concerns of a very short season, which give credit to the report that interim coach Jacque Vaughn will train the nets next season .
Yet there is a real weight in Mark Jackson’s idea in Brooklyn. The nets would always go with a veteran friendly player coach who includes Lue and Jackson but Jason Kidd must be on that list, not to mention Vaughn (and possibly Jeff Van Gundy).
Anyone who gets that job will have to go down the difficult line of being player-friendly, while still being able to motivate kids and align when needed. Doc Rivers is a master of this, he treats his players as adults (and cancels the practice more than any manager in the league), but keeps the level of communication and expectations with his players high. It connects to them and they respond. Is it something Jackson can do? He managed to build a foundation in Golden State, particularly on the defensive side, but it’s different from winning a title.
Don’t expect a decision on the coaching job of the networks anytime soon, and if that changes, it’s good news for Vaughn. Mark Jackson is working on the broadcasts for ESPN / ABC through the finals (together with Van Gundy), Lue is currently Doc Rivers’ main assistant and Kidd is Frank Vogel’s right hand with the Lakers – none of these guys will be available to jump to the work in the near future.
Whatever happens, Durant and Irving will have a say.
