Report: Jackson not Budenholzer in lead for Warriors head coaching job

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According to NBA.com, ABC/ESPN NBA analyst Mark Jackson is the frontrunner for the vacant head coaching spot with the Golden State Warriors and not San Antonio Spurs assistant coach Mike Bundenholzer:

At Golden State, ABC/ESPN analyst Mark Jackson is in the lead, according to a league source, having interviewed twice, the second time with owner Joe Lacob. Lacob has also conducted interviews with Spurs assistant coach Mike Budenholzer and was believed to have conducted the Malone interview Sunday. Those two trail Jackson at the moment.

As the report mentioned, Lacob did meet with Budenholzer in San Antonio recently and Budenholzer has been on the Warriors’ radar for sometime.

While I was at the 2011 NBA Draft Lottery, Lacob spoke with me about Budenholzer’s candidacy and at that time, Budenholzer was not longer in the running: 

Well he certainly was on the original list that we put together of excellent, potential coaches. However, as you know he came out and said he is not going to interview for any positions in the NBA as head coach. I think he is happy where he is for now, for whatever reason. So he’s obviously not a candidate.

Things obviously changed since then for Budenholzer. Perhaps it was the Warriors signing of Jerry West and their aggressive approach to becoming a better team. It’s only a matter of time before Budenholzer is a head coach in the NBA. Let’s just hope it’s with the Spurs once Gregg Popovich decides to step away.