When Stephen Jackson was waived by the San Antonio Spurs right before the playoffs, the move left many scratching their head. Jackson had often spoke about some of the best years of his NBA career being in San Antonio playing for head coach Gregg Popovich. So what went wrong? Jackson said he didn’t want to play Popovich’s mind games which included wanting him to play behind two players he knows he’s better than.
Tuesday he revealed who he was talking about: Danny Green and Manu Ginobili.
Or, as Jackson said Tuesday, again smiling, “I wouldn’t want me on the team, either.”
I suspect these issues were there below the surface following Jackson’s trade to the Spurs following his trade from the Bucks to Golden State. I interviewed him last summer and he mentioned that his status with the Spurs wasn’t a lock for the upcoming season but didn’t elaborate as to why he felt that way. Check it at the 6:54 mark. Guess we now we know.