Mannix: Darren Erman Was Victim Of Hatchet Job
Darren Erman was fired by the Golden State Warriors as assistant coach in early April for a violation of company policy as he secretly recorded conversations between Mark Jackson and other coaches.
"What happened out there was, in my opinion, a total hatchet job for Darren Erman," said Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated. "Darren has been one of the most respected assistants in the NBA for a long time. Did he tape a conversation when he thought some of the coaches were bad mouthing him to other players? Sure. Was he a shill for management? Absolutely not.
"Mark Jackson... was threatened by the work Darren Erman was putting in, the type of hours he put in as assistant coach. You have to have a certain level of understanding if you are a head coach of your own limitations. Doc Rivers had that with (Tom) Thibodeau in Boston. (Larry) Bird had that with (Rick) Carlisle and (Dick) Harter). Mark Jackson never had that with Darren Erman.
"What happened to (Erman) subsequently, the fact that Doc Rivers immediately tried to hire him as an assistant coach, the fact that the Celtics immediately scooped him up as a Director of Scouting speaks to the level of respect around the league have for Darren and how they don't believe any of the stuff coming out about him from Golden State.
