Another valued assistant coach might have found his relationship with Mark Jackson to be unworkable.
Golden State Warriors assistant Brian Scalabrine reportedly has been reassigned by Jackson, the team’s head coach. The situation draws to mind Jackson’s contentious relationship with former assistant Mike Malone, who is now the head coach of the Sacramento Kings.
“Ownership and management have been strong advocates of Scalabrine and his performance on the job, sources told Yahoo Sports,” Adrian Wojnarowski wrote Tuesday. “Nevertheless, Warriors officials decided that as long as Jackson is the head coach, he’ll have control of his coaching staff.”
Exactly how long Jackson remains head coach, of course, is up to the organization. Jackson has a reputation as an unimpressive in-game coach, although the widely respected Malone was able to prop him up in that regard. Now it appears Jackson is forcing out Scalabrine, who has drawn rave reviews and whom the Warriors have no intention of letting leave the organization, according to Wojnarowski.
It is not clear what Scalabrine’s new duties will entail. Brooklyn Nets assistant Lawrence Frank was “reassigned” under similarly vague circumstances earlier this season, with head coach Jason Kidd reportedly relegating the respected Frank to issuing daily written reports.
Scalabrine, 36, is in his first season on Golden State’s bench. He played 11 NBA seasons, including five with the Boston Celtics, winning a championship in 2008. He occasionally sat in for Tom Heinsohn last season on CSNNE game broadcasts last season.
Photo via Facebook/Brian Scalabrine
