When the Kings fired head coach Mike Malone after a better-than-expected start to the season, it was a head-scratcher to most observers who had witnessed marked improvement in Sacramento over the team’s first 24 games. They did go on to lose several games but it was due to their star player DeMarcus Cousins being out with viral meningitis. A couple of names have been thrown out as Malone’s possible replacement including George Karl and Vinny Del Negro but now it appears Mark Jackson has been added to the list.
via USA Today:
Yet late Tuesday night at Sleep Train Arena, after the Kings fell to the Oklahoma City Thunder 104-92, another possible candidate emerged in the most convenient of ways: former Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson. After calling the game courtside for ESPN, Jackson had a lengthy meeting with Mullin, Kings general manager Pete D’Alessandro and franchise centerpiece DeMarcus Cousins inside the “Chairman’s Lounge” where they had requested that arena workers and others give them some privacy.
Jackson, Mullin, and Cousins entered the room at approximately 10:20 p.m. Pacific time, with Cousins sporting a black suit as he continues to recover from his bout with viral meningitis that has kept him out of action since Nov. 26. D’Alessandro joined them approximately 20 minutes into the meeting, and the group finally exited just before midnight, long after the room had been cleared so that they could have a moment to discuss, well, connect the dots yourself.
How ironic that Mark Jackson was fired after a successful season with the Warriors and many people were shocked by it, and now he’s interviewing to replace a coach who was winning with the Kings and many people were shocked by that.
