Castro's Kingdom

The Cleveland Cavaliers search for a head coach is still ongoing as the NBA draft is quickly approaching on June 26th. Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert prefers a defensive minded head coach, while general manager Chris Grant prefers one that focuses more attention on the offensive side of the ball.

The perfect solution would be former Golden State Warriors head coach and current ESPN analyst Mark Jackson. Jackson’s primary focus is on the defense, but it’s a type of defense that leads to fast break scoring opportunities on the offensive end of the floor.

Jackson was let go by the Warriors this year despite leading them to 51 wins in a tough Western Conference, which was their most wins since the 1991-’92 season. They won 47 games last year and you have to go back all the way to the mid seventies to find a Warriors team that had won at least 47 games in back to back seasons!

Prior to the so called “Chosen One” being drafted, the last time the Cavaliers had at least that many wins in back to back years was the early nineties.

Jackson’s Warrior teams improved on a number of offensive categories each season he was at the helm including field goals made and attempted, FG%, offensive rebounds, assists, and most importantly points.

You have to go all the way back to the 1992-’93 season to find a Cavaliers team that averaged more than the 104.3 points/gm that the Warriors averaged this past season.

Defensively, the Warriors’ improved their defensive rebounds, opponents field goals made, FG%, assists, and points/gm each year under Jackson. The 99.5 ppg allowed this season was the best for the Warriors since the 2003-’04 season.

The last time the Cavaliers defense allowed less than 100 ppg was 2009-’10.
Jackson would give the Cavaliers a young coach the players would respect, while also commanding a physical type of play that a blue collar town and fan base in Cleveland would appreciate.

The trio of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and David Lee flourished under the tutelage of Jackson and I’d love to see how Irving, Waiters, Bennett and the 2014 number one overall pick would develop.

It’s clear that Irving and Waiters need to learn how to complement one another. If they gel, I can see them playing like the tandem of John Wall and Bradley Beale in Washington.

Get Mark Jackson here. He’s a proven winner as a player and a coach, and he is the perfect fit on both sides of the floor that the Cavaliers desperately need.