Mark Jackson will not be calling games on MSG Network after the Knicks objected to him being on the team’s chartered plane, The Post has learned.
MSG Network planned on having Jackson occasionally fill in for Clyde Frazier this season, but Knicks management, led by team president Leon Rose, put a kibosh on the arrangement in part due to an old quarrel with Jackson and an assistant coach, according to sources.
“We weren’t able to work something out this season,” an MSG Network spokesman told The Post.
The Knicks declined comment. Jackson did not return messages seeking comment.
In 2014, Darren Erman, a current Knicks assistant, was fired by Jackson — then Golden State’s head coach — with Erman an assistant on his staff.
An ESPN report shortly after stated that Erman had taped Jackson and players unbeknownst to them.
Jackson later called Erman’s actions “inexcusable.” Jackson was fired by Golden State later that year.
Jackson went from the sideline to the booth before being released by ESPN this summer. MSG pursued Jackson to work when Frazier was off, which would have teamed him with his longtime play-by-play partner at ESPN, Mike Breen.
Rose was the final decision maker behind not allowing Jackson on the team plane, hotel or team bus, according to sources. All other TV broadcasters are permitted to travel and room with the team, though there is generally little intermingling. Rose does not speak to the media.
Jackson was expected to call all of the Knicks’ five games on their current trip. He was not expected to make extra money as he was being paid an offset off the money that ESPN still owed him.
Jackson and his agent went through all the appropriate channels to make a deal with MSG Network possible, because ESPN had to sign off on the agreement.
This summer, Jackson, 58, was let go by ESPN during the network’s layoffs after being a mainstay with Breen and Jeff Van Gundy on its top team.
MSG Network looked into reuniting Jackson and Van Gundy with Breen. A Van Gundy deal never came to fruition and he is now consulting for the Celtics. Jackson and MSGN were able to agree to terms on what would have been a limited schedule before the Knicks stepped in.
Jackson, who starred as a point guard with the Knicks, has been mentioned as a potential coach for the team in the past. He interviewed for the job in 2018, but the Knicks instead chose David Fizdale.
The setup between teams’ announcers and the coaches and players generally maintains that there is not much interaction. In most cases, broadcasters, coaches and players are separated on team buses and the plane. The announcers, in most cases, stay at the team hotel.
Jackson could have chosen to fly commercial, stay in a different hotel and find a way to the arena, but it is arduous; especially with back-to-backs and without really being paid extra for his effort.
MSG Network never officially announced the Jackson deal, but reports in The Post and Daily News indicated a deal was on the brink.
With Jackson out, Wally Szczerbiak is filling in for Frazier as MSG’s game analyst.
— Additional reporting by Stefan Bondy