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Stephen Curry publicly campaigned for Mark Jackson to keep his job as the Warriors' head coach.
"What coach has gone through this year has been unlike anything I’ve seen," Curry said minutes after the Warriors' season came to end with a Game 7 loss to the Clippers last May. "Just the amount of distractions and the circus that’s been around him and the decisions he’s had to make. I love coach more than anybody. For him to be in a situation where his job is under scrutiny and under question is totally unfair.
"It would definitely be a shock to me if anything like that were to happen. I’m going to voice my support for coach, you know, you’ve got anybody that asks me all summer. He deserves to be our coach next year and we’re going to come back and build off the momentum we’ve gained in the last three years, and continue to grow as a team. And I want Coach Jackson to be the guy leading us."
He did not see his request granted.
Jackson was fired on May 6, 2014 and Steve Kerr was introduced as the franchise's new head coach on May 20.
"It's just tough," Curry said over a week after Kerr's hiring. "There's no sugarcoating it. It was a weird, expedited situation that we didn't see coming. Guys are human and have got to adjust to it and (need) some time to respond. That's kind of what happened. I think we'll be fine once we have a clear picture of what's going on next year."
The Warriors are more than fine. Under Kerr's leadership, they are 61-13 and have wrapped up the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.
They currently lead the league in defensive rating (97.5) and are second in offensive rating (109.6 -- the Clippers lead at 109.9).
Curry supplanted LeBron James as the leading All-Star vote getter, won the 3-point shootout at All-Star weekend and has become a household name.
He is considered by many to be the leading MVP candidate.
But despite the fact that Curry stuck his neck out to defend Jackson, his former coach would not vote for him for MVP.
"I think there’s four guys in the discussion in LeBron, Westbrook, Curry and Harden," Jackson said Thursday morning on "The Dan Patrick Show." "If you twisted my arm today, I would probably vote for James Harden. And the reason why is because he singlehandedly has put that Houston Rockets team in position that they’re in today.
“It’d be tough. 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 for 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.”
Following Jackson's radio appearance, he tweeted the following:
The question is not who do I Want to win the MVP!! 4 guys deserve strong consideration! #NoWrongAnswer
— Mark Jackson (@MarkJackson13) April 2, 2015