Phil Jackson has said on multiple occasions this season — ever since the Los Angeles Lakers decided to go with Mike D’Antoni instead — that he was done coaching.
His soon to be wife isn’t so sure.
Jeanie Buss, still part of the Lakers ownership, was on ESPN Radio in Los Angeles and talked about Jackson possibly coaching again (as transcribed by Eric Pincus at the Los Angeles Times).
“It has to be the right situation,” Buss said Thursday during a live radio segment…
“I don’t know how things are going to turn out,” Buss said of Jackson. “I just don’t think he’s done contributing yet. I think he’s got a lot to give.”
I still believe he will never coach again, but it depends on how you define “the right situation.” A veteran team in a major market on the verge of a championship… that he might consider. However, how many teams like that are looking for a coach? Then even in that perfect scenario Jackson might say no.
Jackson’s shadow still looms over the Lakers and Mike D’Antoni, something not going away with the hiring of his former lead assistant Kurt Rambis coming on as a D’Antoni assistant. While everyone in the Lakers can say that tie is not there anymore, it’s not going to read that way to fans who wanted Jackson hired last year when Mike Brown was let go.