Andrew Bogut refuses to let his beef with former coach Mark Jackson just die already. When Bogut was asked about Steve Kerr today, he had this to say:
Andrew Bogut today on coach Steve Kerr: "Whenever you get a head coach who’s not full of himself, it makes a huge difference." #Warriors
— Jimmy Durkin (@Jimmy_Durkin) May 29, 2015
Bogut and Jackson’s relationship has been acrimonious, to say the least, since Jackson was dismissed last summer. But it also goes back further than that. In February of last season, during a stretch when Bogut was inactive due to a shoulder injury, Jackson made a poorly-conceived comment to reporters saying he was uncertain when Bogut’s injury occurred precisely, and theorized that it might have happened while Bogut was sleeping.
“As far as I know, it was not on the court,” Jackson said. “It wasn’t in practice. It wasn’t in a game. I’m not really sure. It may have been sleeping, and I say that in all seriousness, but it’s important for us to make sure we continue to treat him, it’s legitimate, and then let’s be smart with it. We’re looking ahead at a whole week of rest and recovery, and we need him.”
After a back-and-forth between the two in the media, Jackson was forced to clarify his statement in a somewhat testy exchange with reporters, who he blamed for twisting his words.
In January of this year, Bogut said he had no relationship whatsoever with his former coach just a few days after Jackson made an offhanded comment about rim protectors being overrated in the NBA during a broadcast of a Warriors-Cavs game, which Bogut obviously took as a passive-aggressive shot.
Jackson added even more fuel to the fire last month when he said he’d vote for James Harden for MVP over Steph Curry. Curry, who’s always supported Jackson publicly, opted mostly to take the high road, simply calling Jackson’s comment “surprising.” But Bogut, of course, jumped at the opportunity to stir the pot by referring to Jackson as “what’s his name.”
Hilarity when Bogut talked Curry for MVP: "Well what's his name said no. What's that guy's name? Mark? I don't remember his name"
— Ethan Strauss (@SherwoodStrauss) April 3, 2015
If you believe the rumors, Jackson was notoriously difficult to work with behind the scenes during his tenure at Golden State, despite the fact that he deserves a fair amount of credit for both the Warriors’ evolution into a Western Conference powerhouse, not to mention Curry’s meteoric rise to superstardom.
He’s also handled the Dubs’ phenomenal success this season with admirable poise, and even got a little choked up at the end of Game 5 after they’d eliminated the Rockets and clinched their first NBA finals berth in 40 years.
It’s high time for all parties involved to move beyond this tiff, but bruised egos take a lot longer to heal than any shoulder injury.