ESPN announcer, Mark Jackson, just so happened to be in Sacramento to broadcast the Sacramento Kings against the Oklahoma City Thunder game. The same day that Kings owner, Vivek Ranadive and the Sacramento Kings decided to part ways with their head coach, Mike Malone.
Fast forward to the end of the Kings loss against the Thunder and now, according to reports, Ranadive, Kings special advisor Chris Mullin and Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro and All-Star big man, DeMarcus Cousins all managed to meet up and have discussions.
Following from Pete Amick of USA TODAY sports.
Yet late Tuesday night at Sleep Train Arena, after the Kings fell to the Oklahoma City Thunder 104-92, another possible candidate emerged in the most convenient of ways: former Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson. After calling the game courtside for ESPN, Jackson had a lengthy meeting with Mullin, Kings general manager Pete D’Alessandro and franchise centerpiece DeMarcus Cousins inside the “Chairman’s Lounge” where they had requested that arena workers and others give them some privacy.
Jackson, Mullin, and Cousins entered the room at approximately 10:20 p.m. Pacific time, with Cousins sporting a black suit as he continues to recover from his bout with viral meningitis that has kept him out of action since Nov. 26. D’Alessandro joined them approximately 20 minutes into the meeting, and the group finally exited just before midnight, long after the room had been cleared so that they could have a moment to discuss, well, connect the dots yourself.
What’s more, D’Alessandro was a video coordinator at St. John’s during Jackson’s senior season. Jackson, Mullin, and D’Alessandro have made a habit of visiting in this nature whenever their paths may cross, but the involvement of Cousins was certainly enough to warrant notice.
What’s more, Jackson’s backstory with the Warriors is enlightening when one considers the enormous role being played here by Kings owner Vivek Ranadive. Before he headed the group that bought the Kings for a then-record $535 million valuation, Ranadive was a minority owner for the Warriors during the Jackson era. Malone was Jackson’s lead assistant during that time, and Ranadive hired Malone even before putting his front office in place
Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reports some more details and what the meeting really was all about.
“Honestly, it was not a meeting. Ty (Corbin) is (our) coach.Mark(Jackson) is our friend. End of story,”Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro told Yahoo
— Marc J. Spears (@SpearsNBAYahoo) December 17, 2014
Either way, this all seems to be weirdly happeneing at the same coincidental time. The ONLY time the Kings are on ESPN and they FIRE their head coach the day of the game? D’Allesandro and Jackson having a meeting right after the game?
I wouldn’t be surprised if Mark Jackson is indeed the new Kings head coach.
