It's always amusing when Golden State Warriors center Andrew Bogut utters former head coach Mark Jackson's name. Or, as was the case on Thursday night, when he pretends to have forgotten it. After the Warriors' dramatic 107-106 win over the Phoenix Suns, the topic of Jackson choosing James Harden instead of Stephen Curry for MVP came up. Bogut handled it well.
Bogut on Mark Jackson endorsing Harden for MVP: "Well it was April Fool's Day"
— Ethan Strauss (@SherwoodStrauss) April 3, 2015Hilarity 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, 2015Some context: Jackson appeared on the Dan Patrick Show and was asked for his MVP vote.
"It'd be awfully tough," Jackson said. "I think there's four guys in the discussion in LeBron [James], [Russell] Westbrook, Curry and Harden. If you twisted my arm today, I would probably vote for James Harden. The reason why is because he singlehandedly has put that Houston Rockets team in the position that they're in today.
"It'd be tough," he repeated. "I think Steph Curry, I'm totally fine with obviously. He's my guy. I'm fine with selecting him. The season that he's had has been incredible. Westbrook, with 10 triple-doubles and carrying that team, injury-prone, into the playoffs. LeBron, being the best player in the world. But I think right now I would go with James Harden because of what he's done, and he's stepped up his game defensively. He's not a great defender, but he's competing on the defensive end."
Curry and Harden are the two leading candidates for the award, with Golden State's superstar guard considered the favorite. It's a little surprising that Jackson didn't go with the guy he coached, but it's not exactly unreasonable.
Just for fun, let's revisit some of Jackson and Bogut's comments from this season. In January, Jackson did color commentary at Oracle Arena for the first time since the Warriors fired him. Golden State blew out the Cleveland Cavaliers that night.
"To me, a rim protector is overrated in this league," Jackson said on the broadcast, via the San Jose Mercury News. "You look at the Warriors. No Andrew Bogut, their defense stays or even improves because of the identity, because of what they force you to do."
That statement was not the funniest Jackson quote from the game, though. This, by far, was my favorite:
"Steve Kerr has done an outstanding job. They're sitting, the best team in basketball today. He deserves a lot of credit. I think while giving him credit, there's no need to take credit away from the past. You cannot disrespect the caterpillar and rave about the butterfly."
Bogut's response?
Really RATED that win! #goDubs
— Andrew Bogut (@andrewbogut) January 10, 2015It came up a month later, too.
Yes like caterpillars RT @stepheniota: @andrewbogut are rim protectors overrated? #Askbogey
— Andrew Bogut (@andrewbogut) February 12, 2015A few days after the "overrated" comment, Bogut talked to reporters about his relationship, or lack there of, with his former coach. From the San Jose Mercury News:
"No way," Bogut said Monday when asked if he had a relationship with his former coach.
"I haven't heard from him since (his firing). I know he keeps in touch with some guys on the team, but I'm kind of in a different crowd I think."
…
"Well he gets paid to talk," Bogut said. "He gets paid to give his opinion, and it's one of those things you've got to deal with. Every coach is different. Some coaches value rim protection. Some coaches value ball movement. Some coaches don't. It's just a matter of each coach going toward what they believe is going to win them games."
That "some coaches value ball movement" line is killer, isn't it? Bogut elaborated in a column for NBA Australia:
People have jumped to conclusions with the whole issue, not knowing I've got a smile on my face throughout this so called “escapade."
I think it's absolutely hilarious.
Over here, the media may not have picked up on the sarcasm. They think I really hate the guy, but that isn't the case. Is he in my contact list? No. But that's about as bad as it gets.
…
I wish him all the best and look forward to more and more unique quotes in the future!
The best jab, though? That was a couple of weeks ago, when Bogut was talking about Kerr emailing disappointed fans after sitting his stars.
"He's great. He's very engaging. He's a normal guy," Bogut said, via CSN Bay Area. "We're definitely not used to that in a head coach."
If you were wondering, Jackson has already sort of backtracked about the Harden thing.
The question is not who do I Want to win the MVP!! 4 guys deserve strong consideration! #NoWrongAnswer
— Mark Jackson (@MarkJackson13) April 2, 2015
