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Still, Jackson remains confident that his team is on the right track and will be a factor in the Western Conference in 2012-13. Jackson isn’t doubling down on a playoff prediction for this upcoming season, but on Wednesday he went on the Jim Rome show and made it clear that the Warriors aren’t a 23-43 team. “We’re closer than that,” Jackson said. “At the end of the day, we are what our record said we were. But we’re much closer. You take a look … we closed the season with our four best players injured (Andrew Bogut, Stephen Curry, David Lee and Dorell Wright). … We are much better than our record indicated. “But we’re going to have to get healthy and then continue to build toward putting some proper pieces around our star pieces.” CSNBayArea.com

Golden State Warriors, Mark Jackson 

Charlotte officials flew to the Bay Area to meet with Malone on Tuesday. Malone is a coveted candidate who will likely be on the short list of most coaching openings this spring. He was the runner-up for the Warriors' job that went to Mark Jackson last year. The Warriors then made Malone the league's highest-paid assistant at $750,000 a year, hiring him to lead Jackson's staff. Yahoo! Sports

Charlotte Bobcats, Golden State Warriors, Coaching, Mark Jackson 

Tim Kawakami: If you wonder whether GSWs might hire Malone, dump Jackson... that almost certainly won't happen. They picked MJax & they're happy w/him. Twitter

Charlotte Bobcats, Golden State Warriors, Coaching, Mark Jackson, Mike Malone 

Marcus Thompson: Warriors GM Bob Myers said he likes the Mark Jackson/Michael Malone team but acknowledged the likelihood Malone could be hired away this offseason. "I think they’re a great complement for each other. I think they really help each other be better than they are individually. So I like how they’ve interacted. I think Mark’s learned a ton from Michael Malone. I think Mike Malone’s learned a ton from Mark. ... So I think its been a great team for this season." Sulia

Golden State Warriors, Coaching, Mark Jackson, Mike Malone, Bob Myers 

But some of the credit for Rush and McGuire goes partly to another positive from the season: Jackson. He was hired in June largely because of his leadership and motivational skills, and this season's difficulties gave him the chance to back up the hype. Jackson managed to keep his players motivated. Golden State avoided locker room drama, and several players, some privately, expressed a desire to play under Jackson. "He was a players' coach," McGuire, who was playing for his seventh coach in five seasons, said of Jackson. "He let everybody play their game. ... He's constantly giving you confidence, and that's big in this league. Everything in this league is about confidence." San Jose Mercury-News

Golden State Warriors, Coaching, Mark Jackson 

Tim Kawakami: No surprise: Bob Myers told me Mark Jackson has done a very good job and will be back next season as Warriors coach. Twitter

Golden State Warriors, Coaching, Mark Jackson, Bob Myers 

-Q: Do you think Jackson’s done a good job? -LACOB: Look, I think Mark’s done a really nice job this year. It’s been a tough year and we put him into an odd set of circumstances when we pivoted midway through the year, obviously… San Jose Mercury-News

Golden State Warriors, Coaching, Mark Jackson, Bob Myers 

Through it all, Mark Jackson – in his first season as head coach in the NBA – has been the man in charge in Golden State. Even though he’s lacking in experience, Warriors’ players believe Jackson is the coach that can lead them in the right direction moving forward. “He’s been good,” Warriors’ starting point guard, Curry, told HOOPSWOLD of Coach Jackson’s first season. “Even though it’s been a tough year collectively, with injuries and trades and not performing the way that we thought coming into the season but this is the mind of a point guard. As a player, he coached that way to me specifically. But for him as a player just playing so many games and playing on so many winning teams, he has that attitude from the start. HoopsWorld

Golden State Warriors, Coaching, Mark Jackson 

Lee agreed with his point guard that Jackson should be the Warriors’ head coach for the foreseeable future. “Mark’s done an unbelievable job,” Lee told HOOPSWORLD. “He’s come in here and he knows how to really handle personalities and that’s a big part of being a head coach in this league. I think he’s going to be the head coach for a long time and he’s really doing an unbelievable job with our team.” HoopsWorld

Golden State Warriors, Coaching, Mark Jackson 

Jackson believes the trials and tribulations of a 17-year career as the floor general prepared him for this tough season. “You know, it’s really been exactly what I thought,” Jackson explained to HOOPSWORLD. “As a player I went through a lockout year so there were no surprises as far as that’s concerned. Growing up I’ve prepared myself to be a head coach in this league watching coaches I played for so it was really no surprises, not at all. I put together an incredible staff and they really do a great job of being on top of everything, so I am extremely fortunate.” HoopsWorld

Golden State Warriors, Coaching, Mark Jackson 

Nonetheless, I’ve assured by a couple team sources that Mark Jackson is safe – as safe as could be expected anyway. They won’t say that publicly – Joe Lacob, who would play the role of Donald Trump should Jackson be fired, offered only a no comment. Still, it’s understood among management that Jackson will be back and Golden State executives like the job he is doing. Someone high up will say as much at season’s end. Contra Costa Times

Golden State Warriors, Coaching, Mark Jackson 

Mark Jackson on the trade: "We are grown-ups and it hurts, so we are not going to sugarcoat it. We talked about it, we laughed, we cried and then we understood the mission was still the same, and it was a great win for us. I can't comment on anything officially right now but those three guys (Monta Ellis, Ekpe Udoh, Kwame Brown) bought into the system from Day 1. I owe a lot to them. People questioned me as a first-time coach, but those guys bought in since Day 1." Sulia

Golden State Warriors, Trade, Monta Ellis, Mark Jackson, Kwame Brown, Ekpe Udoh 

During the pregame warm-ups, the fourth-quarter radio broadcast of the 1962 game was played over the public-address system. Philadelphia managing owner Joshua Harris and Warriors owner Joe Lacob made a pregame presentation, and members of Chamberlain's family were honored at halftime. "As a basketball junkie, I'm well aware of what Wilt meant to the game," Jackson said. "I'm shocked that when we talk about the greatest ever, we don't automatically include him in the conversation. When you average 50 (points) and 25 (rebounds) for a season and do some of the things that he was able to do for his career, it's mind-boggling. "I would much rather have him starting for me." San Francisco Chronicle

Golden State Warriors, Mark Jackson, Wilt Chamberlain 

-Q: I know you addressed this a little at shoot-around, but Larry Riley did mention that it might be time to look to the future. Do you not like hearing that? -MARK JACKSON: I have no time for that. Really, the front office’s job is to look towards the future. So Larry making that statement, whether it’s Larry, Bob or Joe or anybody else, the job is to look towards the future, prepare us to be effective down the road. My job is to handle the business today. I let my guys know, I have no time to think about a lottery pick or anything that doesn’t have anything to do with right now. Our goal is to be a playoff basketball team, continue to get better and put ourselves in position to be the team that we hope to be. San Jose Mercury-News

Golden State Warriors, Mark Jackson, Larry Riley 

Mark Jackson On the support that Lin has gotten from Knicks fans: “He’s embraced the fans and it shows you what can be done when you believe you can go out and get the job done. He’s playing with great confidence and is not afraid of the moment. That’s one thing I knew coming in. He was a guy that would compete and get after it. I’m happy for him because at the end of the day we have a point guard in Steph Curry. I was at Starbucks yesterday and a guy asked me about Jeremy Lin and Steph Curry and I asked him who was a better player. He paused and because he took the pause I just told him thank you, have a great day. Enjoy your cup of coffee.” Sports Radio Interviews

Golden State Warriors, New York Knicks, Mark Jackson, Jeremy Lin 

All right, this Jeremy Lin situation is officially out of control. Warriors coach Mark Jackson said he received a text message about Lin from Spike Lee, film director and big-time New York Knicks fan. According to Jackson, Lee “thanked” Jackson for making Lin available so that the Knicks could pick him up. “I got a text message from Spike Lee this morning,” Jackson said after Warriors’ practice on Saturday. “I had nothing to do with Jeremy Lin. I never saw him do a layup. So for the people … stop asking me. He never practiced for us so leave me out of it.” CSNBayArea.com

Golden State Warriors, New York Knicks, Mark Jackson, Spike Lee, Jeremy Lin 

It's important to note that Lacob offered strong support for Jackson, saying that the long lockout limited some of what Jackson could do with this team in the early going. "I love Mark Jackson," Lacob said. "I think he's an outstanding individual and an outstanding coach in the NBA. He's going to be an outstanding coach. He's learning. "I think he's had some growing pains. I think he'd be first to admit it. ... He's learning his roster. He clearly has to adjust to certain things and learn -- not everybody can perform like he wants them to perform. "I think he's really done everything right, within the confines of the roster we've given him and the amount of preparation time he had." San Jose Mercury-News

Golden State Warriors, Coaching, Mark Jackson, Joe Lacob 

Mark Jackson spent parts of six seasons with the Indiana Pacers as an extension of the coach on the court. He provided an extra set of eyes to help first-time coach Larry Bird. Jackson made suggestions to the coaching staff and did not hesitate to make adjustments according to how opponents were playing them. It was only a matter time before Jackson would become a coach following his 17-year NBA career as an elite guard. "I knew he would be a coach in the NBA," former Pacers CEO Donnie Walsh said this week in a phone interview. "He had it in him as a player. He thought like a coach when he played a game." Indianapolis Star

Golden State Warriors, Coaching, Mark Jackson 

Jackson was the starting point guard on the 1999-2000 Pacers team that also featured Reggie Miller and Jalen Rose, a group that reached the NBA Finals. "Mark, more than any point guard I've ever played with, saw and read things as they were happening on the floor," said Austin Croshere, another member of that 56-26 team. "He was the smartest point guard I played with. The transition to being a head coach shouldn't be a problem for him." Indianapolis Star

Golden State Warriors, Coaching, Mark Jackson 

There was concern because Jackson had no previous head coaching experience. Playing point guard for seven teams served as excellent preparation. Lack of coaching experience didn't hurt Bird. "To go from no coaching experience to coaching an NBA team isn't something you would expect, but it's worked for other people like Larry, so there's no reason it won't work for Mark," said Pacers center/forward Jeff Foster, who played one season with Jackson. "I'm glad Mark got that same opportunity as others because I know that's what he wanted. He'll be great at it." Indianapolis Star

Golden State Warriors, Coaching, Mark Jackson