Mark Jackson came tantalizingly close to succeeding Isiah Thomas as Knicks coach in 2008, but the job instead went to Mike D’Antoni.
“If I didn’t hire Mike, Mark was the next guy on my list,” said Indiana president Donnie Walsh, who was Knicks president and general manager back then.
What kept Jackson, who was atop the list until D’Antoni emerged, from the job was an immediate Knicks’ future that appeared downright bleak.
“Mark was definitely in the running. No doubt about it. Mike didn’t come in the picture until late,” Walsh recalled. “When I met with Mark, he was really high on my list and I’m thinking, ‘I would have no problem bringing this guy except it’s going to be difficult for him because we’re not going to have the talent until the third year.’ ”
That was the deciding factor, Walsh said. He did not know how an inexperienced coach would handle what was sure to be a couple seasons of failure.
Walsh was certain of Jackson’s ability and recalled how he and Jackson, who were together in Indiana long before the executive came to New York, often discussed the player’s future. Jackson had not been an assistant, something some teams require and something that hurt him in subsequent searches. Walsh said that didn’t matter to him.
“I had Mark here as a player for a long time. I knew how smart he was,” Walsh said. “If you sat down and talked with Mark, he was way above most players in the way he thought about the game. And he always wanted to coach. I always talked to him about being a coach.”
Jackson, who went into TV as an analyst, often working next to Jeff Van Gundy, did not get the Knicks job, but eventually
landed Golden State’s position.
“We had very good conversations. Donnie Walsh, a man who I respect a great deal, who has had tremendous success in the game of basketball, thought enough of me to interview me and make me a real candidate,” Jackson said. “They went another way.”