JUNE 17TH: Jackson, speaking on 95.7 The Game in California, denied reports of Cleveland’s interest, as Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News group notes (Twitter link).
“Those are nothing but rumors and speculation,” Jackson said.
JUNE 12TH: The Cavs have spoken directly with Jackson about the job, but no formal interview is in the works, and it’s unclear just how serious the Cavs are about the former Warriors head man, reports Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
JUNE 11TH: The Cavs have made “back-channel inquiries” about ex-Warriors coach Mark Jackson, relays Bob Finnan of The Morning Journal, echoing a report from Joe Kotoch of probasketballdraft.com. This is the second new name to emerge as a potential candidate for the Cavs’ open coaching job in less than 24 hours, as we heard this morning that Cleveland was interested in Pacers’ assistant Nate McMillan.
There were contradicting reports on whether or not Jackson would be a serious candidate for Cleveland’s head coaching position, but this latest info seems to suggest that the Cavs hold at least some level of interest in the current ESPN analyst. Still, Finnan hears from a source that a job offer from Cleveland might not be enough to lure Jackson away from the booth.
Jackson went 121-109 during his three-year tenure in Golden State, which ended on a sour note when he was fired after his team suffered a first-round playoff defeat at the hands of the Clippers. Amid rumors of dysfunction and friction with ownership, Jackson was still able to maintain the support of his players, some of whom disagreed with the team’s decision to fire him.
The Cavs’ coaching search has been wide reaching, spanning from several big names in the college ranks, to would-be first-time head coaches, to established veterans like Jackson. A report earlier this week indicated that Cleveland has reached out to around 11 different candidates about the job. The Cavs and Lakers are the only teams remaining without a head coach.