Knicks Rumors: Mark Jackson Emerges as Candidate to Replace Jeff Hornacek

Former Golden State Warriors head coach Mark Jackson is reportedly a candidate to eventually succeed Jeff Hornacek as the coach of the New York Knicks.

Kurt Helin of NBC Sports passed along words from the weekly newsletter of Marc Stein of the New York Times that suggested as much:

"The former Knicks guard Mark Jackson keeps coming up as a hot name to succeed Hornacek, amid a growing belief the Knicks' new front-office chief — Scott Perry — will want to install his own hand-picked choice heading into next season.

"It's difficult to fault Hornacek for much of the chaos that has engulfed the Knicks during his two seasons in charge. But there's no avoiding the fact he was a Phil Jackson selection, which could well doom him now that the organization seems intent on cutting every non-Porzingian tie to the Phil era as possible."

Mark Jackson may be an intriguing option for the Knicks, but Hornacek is still their coach. He recently said he would like to know what his status is moving forward, per Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News.

"At the end of the season I'm sure we'll sit down with [Perry and team president Steve Mills] and figure out what we're doing," Hornacek said. "As a coach you'd like to know if you're going to be here next year. But our job right now is take the guys that we have on this team and try to get them better."

The Knicks are 26-45 and have already clinched their fifth straight losing season. Things haven't gotten much better in Hornacek's second season after New York went 31-51 in 2016-17, though Kristaps Porzingis' season-ending ACL tear is a major reason for its struggles in 2017-18.

As for Mark Jackson, Helin suggested there is plenty for the Knicks to like since he "built the defensive foundation on which the Warriors have won titles" and "was beloved by his players" in Oakland.

He is also familiar with the New York market and the pressure that comes with it, having played for the Knicks for six-and-a-half seasons of his 17-year career.

The Warriors demonstrated steady improvement under Jackson, going 23-43 in 2011-12, 47-35 in 2012-13 and 51-31 in 2013-14. They reached the next three NBA Finals, winning two, after Steve Kerr replaced Jackson in 2014.

The Knicks are rebuilding and looking to establish a foundation, which is exactly what Jackson helped the Warriors do before Kerr took over.