You can say this much about Stephen Curry: he is a professional down to his bones. On Thursday, Mark Jackson said James Harden, not Curry, was the MVP. This came as a bit of a shock, not just because of Curry and Jackson’s close relationship, but also because Curry defended Jackson earlier this year after Joe Lacob’s remarks.
So it would have been perfectly natural to expect Curry to throw a jab or two Jackson’s way when he was asked about Jackson’s remark. Instead, Curry refrained from such tactics:
Curry's thoughts on Mark Jackson's MVP take, this time with a typo fixed pic.twitter.com/cBAoUyeFK9
— Ethan Strauss (@SherwoodStrauss) April 3, 2015
While Curry refrained from taking a shot at Jackson, Bogut had no such qualms.
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
Bogut was one of the few players who didn’t buy into Jackson’s coaching methods, creating a relationship that was essentially the diametric opposite of the one Curry shared with Jackson. Once Jackson left, that relationship went from icy to simply nonexistent.
Curry could have easily thrown Jackson under the bus, but what would have been the point? As Curry said, this is a different situation from when Curry stood up for Jackson – Jackson was in danger of losing his job, whereas Curry winning or losing the MVP will have no bearing on his status with the Warriors. One would think Jackson could be a bit more placative with his response, but it’s not an answer worth Curry’s wrath.
And we shouldn’t expect Jackson to pick Curry just because Curry defended him. If he believes Harden is the MVP, that’s perfectly fine. He was asked his opinion, and he gave it. Still, if Jackson gets another head coaching gig, don’t be surprised if Curry torches that team for 60 points.