Why Mark Jackson's New York Knicks Broadcast Deal Reportedly Fell Through

Mark Jackson was reportedly set to call New York Knicks games for MSG Network this season after his departure from ESPN/ABC.

It appears that the New York Knicks have missed out on another high-profile transfer.

A report from Andrew Marchand and Stefan Bondy of the New York Post has revealed that Mark Jackson will not call games on MSG Network this season due in part to a negative relationship with assistant coach Darren Erman. 

According to The Post's report, Knicks president Leon Rose barred Jackson from traveling and lodging with the team, which continues a five-game road trip on Wednesday night in Atlanta (7:30 p.m. ET, MSG). Jackson was set to call all five legs of the trip in relief of longtime New York color commentator and analyst Walt "Clyde" Frazier but Rose "put a kibosh on the arrangement in part due to an old quarrel with Jackson and an assistant coach."

The color duties on this road trip have instead gone to MSG studio analyst and former NBA All-Star Wally Szczerbiak.

Throughout the offseason, rumors surfaced that Jackson would move to MSG Network to serve as a part-time replacement for Frazier, who told All Knicks that he planned to "cut back on road games" in June. Jackson had been with ESPN/ABC since his retirement, most of it spent as a part of the lead broadcasting trio for the network's NBA coverage. 

Mark Jackson will not be calling Knicks games on MSG Network this season / USA TODAY SPORTS

Alongside play-by-play man Mike Breen and fellow color commentator Jeff Van Gundy, Jackson was on the mike for each of the last 17 editions of the NBA Finals (with the exception of 2012-13 when he was with Golden State). 

Jackson and Erman previously collaborated during the former's term as head coach of the Golden State Warriors. Erman was fired from Golden State in the latter stages of the 2013-14 season for a "violation of company policy." A report from Chris Broussard, then of ESPN, later stated that Erman was recording meetings and conversations with coaches and players without their knowledge or consent. Jackson himself was bid farewell from the Warriors shortly after that season ended and resumed his duties with ESPN/ABC.

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Erman has been on the Knicks' sidelines since head coach Tom Thibodeau's arrival in 2020. He and Thibodeau were previously assistants on the Boston Celtics' staff for three seasons. Erman returned to the Celtics organization in 2019 when he served as the head coach of the team's G League affiliate, the Maine Red Claws, for one year.

Jackson, a Brooklyn native, began his career with the Knicks as a first-round pick out of St. John's in the 1987 draft. He'd play five seasons in New York before he was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers in 1992 though he'd return for two more seasons at the tail end of his career (2001-02).

Both Jackson and Van Gundy, the latter a former Knicks coach, were part of ESPN's company-wide layoffs over the summer and have since been replaced by Doris Burke and Doc Rivers. MSG reportedly sought to add both Jackson and Van Gundy as Frazier fill-ins but the latter took a consulting position with the Celtics. Moving to MSG would've reunited them with Breen, who continues to be the primary television voice of both the Knicks and the NBA on ESPN.