‘‘We just felt there was so much public support that we felt it might be difficult not to hire him,’’ Kupchak said. ‘‘My feeling (before Saturday’s meeting with Jackson) was that he didn’t want to coach any more, and when he left two years ago, he felt he stayed a year too long. We gradually got to the position where we could do what we think is right for the team. It took us a couple of days to sort through that, and we knew there would be a ridiculous amount of criticism for making this decision, but it was clearly and only a basketball decision.’’