When Mark Jackson became the head coach of the Golden State Warriors coach last June, he had to have known that he faced a serious challenge. Faced with an unbalanced roster and needing to change an entire culture to succeed, Jackson had a long-term project on his hands. And yet, as if that weren't an issue at all, Jackson guaranteed a spot in the playoffs and then doubled down on that prediction after the team started this season 5-10 . With the Warriors now playing for a draft pick after overhauling their roster at the trade deadline , the playoffs are no longer even a remote hope. So it stands to reason that Jackson would regret some aspect of his postseason promise, right? Well, not quite, although his reasoning does make some sense. From Rusty Simmons for the San Francisco Chronicle (via SLAM ):