Stephen Jackson has had quite an illustrious career for a guy who spent four seasons playing journeyman ball in Australia, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic. Jeremy Lin has had it easy. He’s had moments of immaturity, including his role in the Malice in the Palace but he’s generally been known as a great teammate. However, this season has been a disaster.
The bulk of it can be chalked up to his fractured relationship with head coach Scott Skiles.
According to Gary Woelful of RacineSportsZone.com:
After Stephen Jackson was benched for the second half of a game against Denver Jan. 17, I asked the Bucks veteran swingman whether he had any inkling Bucks coach Scott Skiles was going to do that.
Jackson said he didn’t get any advance warning and he didn’t get any explanation after the game, either.
It was abundantly clear even then that Jackson, whom the Bucks acquired from Charlotte last June and was expected to be a key piece to the Bucks’ puzzle this season, wasn’t on the same page with Skiles.
Now, a month later, Jackson’s relationship with Skiles seemingly has disintegrated. In an interview with Rod Burks of Channel 4 (NBC) in Milwaukee, Jackson said: “We don’t have no relationship like I’ve had with other coaches and I don’t expect to have one. Too much stuff has happened.”
I’m not sure what’s taken place behind the scenes but I’ll take an educated guess. If Jackson were a malcontent throughout his career I’d be aligned to believe Jackson is just acting out because his minutes have been slashed. However, Skiles has a history of being confrontational. He’s been fired in two previous stops with the Phoenix Suns and the Chicago Bulls. Both franchises improved dramatically after his departure.
The Phoenix Suns fired Skiles the year that they drafted Amare Stoudemire after stumbling to a 25-26 start and the Bulls canned him the year that they drafted Derrick Rose with the first overall pick.
In Chicago, he famously clashed over four-time Defensive player of the Year, Ben Wallace wearing a headband, he’d worn his entire career. Throughout his career he’s proved himself to be the most cantankerous coach in the NBA. As a player he once tried to fight Shaquille O’Neal in practice.
Skiles is a great disciplinarian for young teams but eventually his excessively intense coaching style wears players down and he loses the team. Brandon Jennings has already begun talking about playing in a bigger market, which would take him away from Skiles. Skiles is the 2% milk of NBA coaches. He’s great for the development of young players but his style has an expiration date that sours on his players.
The Bucks are currently six games under .500 and finished 35-47 last season. If Skiles history and current events are any indication, Skiles won’t survive in Milwaukee much longer.
