Q&A: Mark Jackson

Courtesy of Tim Kawakami

-JACKSON: I want to thank the Warriors organization for giving me a chance and thank the incredible fans in the area. And thank my players who I love and appreciate.

We accomplished a lot in three years and we should be proud. I wish them nothing but the best.

But to me, now the pressure’s on for them to get a championship. It’s not the time for them to be patient any more. This is a championship-caliber team. We were in the playoffs without David last year, and we were without Bogut this year.

When this team is healthy, it is a legit contender. That’s something that we’re all looking at going forward.

-Q: Did you expect to get fired when you came into the meeting today?

-JACKSON: Well, it works both ways. This was a season that was taxing and draining… Maybe where there’s smoke there’s fire, there was enough that was going on out there. But I didn’t pay any attention to it.

I had a team to coach.. I don’t want anything to take away from what has taken place for three years now. It’s been incredible to see.

I’m extremely grateful.

And I’m not going to be flipping tables and acting the fool. It was respectful and I’m fine with that. I’m absolutely fine with that.

-Q: Do you expect to coach again soon? Are you already hearing from teams with vacancies?

-JACKSON: Well, I’ve got a lot of messages on my phone that I haven’t checked yet…

That’ll play itself out. I know it’ll work out.

I do know that I don’t have to prove I can coach any more, because of the platform I was given.

-Q: Lacob and Myers said that maybe both sides have learned from this and will be better in the next situation. Do you agree with that?

-JACKSON: (Chuckles.) Well, obviously every experience is a learning experience and an opportunity to get better.

I get better from every experience and I’m a better coach now than I was three years ago, and I’m looking to get better every day of my life.