Shaq endorses Mark Jackson as next Lakers coach

Shaquille O'Neal believes Mark Jackson is the best pick to succeed Frank Vogel as head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers.

O'Neal offered his endorsement of Jackson in an interview with Rory Carroll of Reuters, touting his work with the Golden State Warriors as a prime reason the Lakers should hire him.

"Mark Jackson helped build Golden State before Steve Kerr took it to the next level," the Lakers legend said. "He made it a very sexy brand to watch, so I'm sure he can do that with LeBron (James) and (Russell Westbrook)."

Jackson coached the Warriors for three years, during which time the team went 121-109 in the regular season and 9-10 in the playoffs. He was fired following the 2013-14 campaign and has since served as an analyst for ESPN.

O'Neal also shared his thoughts on the Lakers' roster, saying they should focus on getting younger.

"So, if they can keep LeBron, Russell, and (Anthony Davis), everyone else needs to be very young," he said. "You can't have five or six guys in their upper 30s because the league is getting younger and faster.

"To have, as (Charles Barkley) says, old geezers running up against these young boys, it's not going to work over an 82-game stretch."