Is Phil's Laker future tied to Game 7?
By Randy Youngman
The Orange County Register
As the Lakers rocketed closer to another NBA championship Tuesday night at Staples Center, Phil Jackson's coaching future remained a topic of public intrigue and internal debate.
The latest rumor is Jackson's $12 million salary isn't the only issue complicating the situation.
There are whispers that Lakers owner Jerry Buss also wants to return to the fast-break basketball featured during the Lakers' wildly successful "Showtime" era in the 1980s. To do that, he knows Jackson's championship-tested "triangle offense" would have to be de-emphasized, if not abandoned — and we all know the chances of that happening under the Zen Master.
If the Lakers complete their comeback by winning Game 7 on Thursday night to repeat as NBA champions — it almost seems like a foregone conclusion after their 89-67 romp in Game 6 — there will be pressure on Buss to bring back Jackson, whatever the price. And justifiably so.
But if the Celtics dethrone the Lakers, or if Jackson decides to go out on top, that would open the door for a coaching change, presenting the opportunity for someone to come in and implement Buss' desire for a fast-paced offense.
The Lakers, of course, have been preparing for this inevitability, because Jackson will turn 65 in September. He reportedly has been pushing assistant Brian Shaw as his successor, but word is that Buss would prefer someone with NBA head coaching experience.
The candidate who makes the most sense for the Lakers is Byron Scott, for several reasons.
Scott is a former Lakers star from the Showtime era, as well as a former Lakers assistant, and he coached the New Jersey Nets to two NBA Finals and the New Orleans Hornets to one division le.
Just as important, Scott has remained on friendly terms with Buss and, perhaps even more important, has remained a confidant and sounding board for Kobe Bryant over the years. Kobe will never forget that Scott took him under his wing as an NBA rookie and counseled and supported him after Bryant was charged with sexual assault in 2003.
And there's one more reason the Lakers are believed to be interested in Scott, one they can't talk about — his relationship with superstar New Orleans point guard Chris Paul. If Scott is hired as Lakers coach, it wouldn't be surprising if Paul followed him to L.A. when he becomes a free agent in two years or perhaps arrive sooner in a sign-and-trade deal.
Veteran point guard Derek Fisher has played well enough in the playoffs to earn another one-year contract, but Paul would be the ideal choice to come in and run a high-octane offense after Fisher's departure. (Mention Paul's name to Kobe and watch his face light up.)
This, of course, is all speculation at this point and predicated on Scott not being hired by the Cleveland Cavaliers, who interviewed him in the past week, apparently as a fall-back option if Michigan State's Tom Izzo turned down the job. Izzo did Tuesday.
The intrigue continues as the Lakers and "Big Chief Triangle" close in on another NBA le.
*********************
Jackson In Line For $2M Windfall If Lakers Win le
SportingNews
Phil Jackson will receive a $2 million bonus if the Lakers win Game 7 of The Finals on Thursday, ESPN.com’s Marc Stein reports. Stein cites unnamed NBA coaching sources.
Jackson is looking to extend his NBA record with an 11th championship this season, amid speculation about his future in L.A. Jackson, 64, has said he’d like to return if the Lakers win a second consecutive le and his health is good enough.
Finances also will play a part. Jackson is the league’s highest-paid coach at $12 million per season, but team owner Jerry Buss reportedly wants Jackson to accept a pay cut.
No. He's in too deep in this series now. The victory last night cemented his involvement with this team for another year. It calmed the waters, stilled the roiling in Bryant. If it goes South tomorrow night, it can now be lived with via the old fashioned protocol of humility and looking to the proverbial forward.
Jackson heads into Game 7 facing uncertain future
By Beth Harris
Like a lot of folks, albeit ones making millions less than he does, Phil Jackson rises every morning and swears it’s the last season he’s going to coach the Los Angeles Lakers.
So far, he’s kept coming back for more. Jackson wraps up his 10th year with the team on Thursday night, when the Lakers and Boston Celtics play a deciding Game 7 of the NBA finals.
A victory by the Lakers would help Jackson extend his record to 11 les.
It will be Jackson’s first Game 7 in the finals.
“I can’t imagine myself going through this again,” he said Wednesday. “It’s not only a lot of fun, but it’s a lot of stress and pain and anxiety, etc. But it’s something you get acclimated to.”
So is the drama that has unfolded in recent summers on whether Jackson will or won’t return to the bench. He’s a lame duck, working the final year of his contract, with no word on a possible extension.
Jackson turns 65 in September. He has undergone two hip replacement operations since October 2006—using a cane at various times—and walks with a noticeable hitch in his step. Unlike last season, though, he didn’t miss any games this year for health reasons.
Told by a reporter that his health appears to be at its best for the first time in a while, he replied, “I dispute that, but it’s still nice of you to say that.
“I think we have a built-in memory system in our bodies to forget—it’s like mothers giving birth. Somehow they do it again even though it’s one of the most difficult things to ever do.”
Jackson typically decides whether to return after an offseason physical.
His 10 NBA les are a record for a coach, and he has a history of winning them in threes. He guided the Bulls to three straight from 1991-93, and another three from 1996-98.
He first joined the Lakers in June 1999, and they took to him immediately, winning three consecutive championships. They lost to Detroit in the 2004 finals and to Boston two years ago before winning it all last year.
“I never anticipated still being a coach and searching for this,” he said.
His five grown children plopped a hat on his head after the Lakers’ clinching victory against Orlando last year, signifying his 10th le.
“It kind of sunk in, the remarkable ability to have had this amount of opportunities, which I’m very grateful for,” he said.
“I’ve been fortunate to have very talented players and talented teams. Along with that is a lot of responsibility that’s had to be met, and I’m grateful I’ve been able to do that with the support of a great staff and the staffs that I’ve had.”
Now Jackson is poised to claim a second straight le, something that could reward him financially. He acknowledged there’s a bonus in his contract, although he wouldn’t confirm that it’s for winning back-to-back championships.
“I wouldn’t ever disclose what’s in my contract, but I know that the rumor has come up and it’s been around,” he said, adding that he would use the bonus to find charities that he described as “very necessary in my life. That’s one of the things that I made a promise to myself about.”
Jackson is already the first coach in NBA history to lead a team to three straight les three different times. If the Lakers win Thursday night, and his health holds up, he might be tempted to go for a fourth three-peat next year.
He was talking about his players, but Jackson could have been describing himself when he said, “It’s about health, it’s about being able to make it through the season in a good condition physically because what happens when you win a championship is you draw your innermost self out physically, spiritually, emotionally, mentally and recover, and next year to win it back-to-back is one of the most difficult things you’ll ever do.”
Jackson notched his 224th career playoff victory in Game 6 on Tuesday, moving him past hockey Hall of Famer Scotty Bowman (223) for the most postseason wins by any coach in North America’s four major pro team sports—the NBA, NHL, NFL and Major League Baseball.
“That’s a lot of wins,” he said. “It’s great to have been standing and have been able to have these kind of teams, just a wonderful factor. But it’s not going to be any significant thing that I’m going to remember.”
Last edited by duncan228; 06-16-2010 at 08:57 PM.
The fast break Showtime only worked because of Magic. Seeing there's no point guard in the league with half of Magic's talent, it'd be stupid to try to transform a le team into Suns 2.0.
False.
Why can't these writers get the simplest facts straight?
Seriously. Phil's taken them to how many les and finals recently? Let the man work.
Is this for real? This has to be made up nonsense. Buss has been the Lakers owner forever and he is far from being this stupid. The style that matters, is the one that wins les.. That's it period.. "Hey Phil you won but i want the showtime of the 80's back so you're fired".. This article must be a joke..
Jackson to donate bonus to charity
It reported this week that Phil Jackson was in line for a $2 million bonus should the Lakers win the le. On Wednesday, Jackson acknowledged the bonus, but said he would donate it to charity.
"This is something I will do with the bonus as I feel fit, which is to fund some of the charities that I consider to be very necessary in my life," Jackson said. "That's one of the things I made a promise to myself about."
Wow, props to Phil on the charity donation.
I'm of the belief the new owner of the Nets, Rich Russian Guy wanted Phil as his #1 choice and wouldn't have moved off of that until he knew for a fact
a. Phil would not come
b. Lebron made it known (thru channels) he wioll not come to the Nets thus Phil would not even consider the Brooklyn Nets, even if Phil does bolt from the Laker Burqua n Mascara wearer.
The last time Phil got his "bolt" on he came back not too long after, beggin' the "Burqua n Mascara wearer" for mercy, a hand down and a job.
2/10 Multi
Great Players or Coaching? Jackson's Legacy Still Questioned
By Chris Tomasson
So what does Phil Jackson have to do, win 15 les?
Twenty?
The Lakers coach has championship rings for every one of his fingers, and by late Thursday night he might have to start on his toes. If the Lakers defeat Boston in Game 7 of the NBA Finals at the Staples Center, he would earn an 11th championship as a coach.
Still, a perception exists Jackson has won mostly because he's had the good fortune to have coached Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, two of the most legendary players ever.
"He's had a lot of great players,'' was the short assessment of Celtics guard Ray Allen when asked for his thoughts on Jackson's coaching career.
Allen then agreed when asked if there are other coaches the equal of Jackson but just haven't had as much talent.
"Yeah, he's had the best in the league,'' said Allen, referring to Jordan and Scottie Pippen, who helped Jackson win six rings with Chicago in the 1990s, Bryant, who has helped him claim four Lakers' championships, and Shaquille O'Neal, around for three of those Lakers' crowns.
Lakers guard Derek Fisher also has won four rings under Jackson. He believes there always will be a perception about Jackson's career that it was more about the players.
"I think his players, in a lot of ways, have gotten more credit for what has happened than he has,'' Fisher said. "The NBA is a players' game and it's a players' sport so some of that is fair. But some of it is not so fair. There's obviously something that he's doing right to have his teams in this position as many or more times as anybody has ever done.''
It's wacko that in some circles Jackson isn't regarded as one of the greatest coaches ever. At least a Sporting News Magazine poll last year didn't shortchange Jackson when 118 Hall of Famers, championship coaches and other experts voted him the fourth-greatest coach ever behind John Wooden, Vince Lombardi and Bear Bryant.
Wooden, who won 10 NCAA les at UCLA, died earlier this month. Jackson can pass Wooden on Thursday for the most championships coached at any significant level of basketball.
Sure, Jackson has had great players. But it's worth something that in six of his 10 le seasons his team didn't have the best record in the NBA, and this could be seven in 11. So why didn't the team with the best record in those years win the crown?
This legendary career could end Thursday, although it probably won't. Jackson, who is in the last year of his contract, has hinted strongly on occasions he will return. That includes an interview last month with FanHouse when Jackson said, "This is the place that I've coached the last 10 years and I anticipate doing it more.''
But Jackson has hinted at times about not returning. He told FanHouse last week he will make his decision within a week from the end of the Finals and that his health is his primary concern. Jackson already has had both hips replaced and said he might need work done on his bad knees.
"I still get up and say this is probably the last time I'm ever going to do this,'' Jackson said Wednesday about some days. "I can't imagine myself going through this again. It's not only a lot of fun, but it's a lot of stress and pain and anxiety, et cetera. But it's something you get acclimated (to). ... I think we have a built-in memory system to forget.''
Just in case Thursday does mark Jackson's final NBA game, it's worth pausing to try to decipher just how mindboggling his coaching record has been. Consider Jackson has won 10 of the past 19 NBA les and he didn't even coach during two of those seasons.
Jackson often has shrugged off his place in history, but he said it really did hit him last June, when the Lakers beat Orlando for Jackson's 10th championship. That broke the mark he shared with Boston's Red Auerbach for the most coaching les in NBA history and one also shared by the NHL's Scotty Bowman for the most in any major pro sport.
"I understand it,'' Jackson said. "I came to that understanding last year. There were two championships that were missed (losses in 2004 and 2008 that prevented Jackson from getting his 10th ring). It was a push to get to this. ... When my kids brought out that hat that was put on my head after the game against Orlando, it kind of sunk in, the remarkable ability to have had this amount of opportunities, which I'm very grateful for.''
The hat was put on Jackson's head by his five grown children to signify the 10 championships Jackson has won. Jim Cleamons, Jackson's long-time assistant who was by his side for four les in Chicago and all four in Los Angeles, also cited being inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2007 as a key moment for Jackson.
"Surely, sometimes you think about it, when you have an 'ah-ha' moment, voila,'' Cleamons said. "Just being inducted into the Hall of Fame a couple of years ago, that may have been one. The 10th championship. This would surely be, I would think, maybe icing on the cake, so to speak.''
Cleamons, like many, is optimistic Jackson could end up returning.
"He's healthier I think this year than he was last year, and so, if that's a barometer, yes there's hope,'' Cleamons said. "So he may decide (to return). But it's his decision.''
There also is the matter of Jackson having acknowledged he has been asked by Lakers owner Jerry Buss to take a pay cut from this season's $12 million. Jackson did confirm Wednesday he at least would receive a bonus if he wins another NBA le Thursday. ESPN.com reported the bonus is $2 million, although Jackson, who vowed to give the money to charity, said he's "not sure if what they're saying is correct, whoever has reported it.''
With Boston starting center Kendrick Perkins out due to a knee injury, the Lakers are heavy favorites to win another championship for Jackson. If you count the one he claimed as a player for New York in 1973 (Jackson missed all of the Knicks' 1969-70 le season due to a back injury), that would give Jackson 12 rings, one more than Bill Russell won as a player.
Yes, Russell was a player-coach for two of those trophy hoistings. But you don't get double credit for the same championship.
"As far as Phil and what he's accomplished still, it's almost comical to me that, until he wins a championship, he's not considered that good of coach,'' Fisher said of Jackson not always getting his due. "It's kind of always up for debate until he wins and then, 'Oh yeah, we forgot this guy has won more championships (than anyone) in the history of basketball.'''
There could be more on the way.
"If he decides to come back next year and we can keep this group together, who knows?'' Cleamons said.
Maybe a few more rings even would impress Allen.
Sure sounds like a joke.
Very un-Buss like. Dr. Buss doesn't meddle with his coaches. He just wants victories no matter how.
Charity donations are tax deductible. So yes, he'll get his bonus.
Says who? Is this official? He did the work of both, so give Bill Russell the cred.Yes, Russell was a player-coach for two of those trophy hoistings. But you don't get double credit for the same championship.
Jackson’s decision weighs on Lakers’ 3-peat hopes
By Greg Beacham
The two-time NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers’ most important free agent this summer is a 64-year-old former forward with two bad knees, two artificial hips and two more championships than any coach in NBA history.
When Phil Jackson reveals his plans for the future next week, presumably some time after the Lakers’ parade down Figueroa Street on Monday, the 16-time champions can get to work on the smaller details of their upcoming run at a threepeat.
Amid the confetti and cacophony of their 83-79 victory over the Boston Celtics in Game 7 of the NBA finals on Thursday night, many Lakers took a moment to consider their charmed lives. They all seem to realize they’re lucky to come together around Kobe Bryant, whose sublime talent is at the center of their back-to-back les.
“It’s just like I’m living in a different dimension,” said Pau Gasol, who labored in mediocrity in Memphis until a 2008 trade to Los Angeles led him to three straight NBA finals and two les. “If I could get a genie and ask for a wish, this would be my wish, as far as my basketball life and career. … It’s pretty unbelievable, the contrast from some situations. That’s why you’ve got to be so appreciative of life and the present.”
The Lakers’ 16th championship was sweeter for its difficulty. Bryant called it the toughest playoff stretch of his career, with the Celtics stretching Los Angeles to the limit in a ferocious, defense-dominated series.
And even before he had changed out of his uniform after laboring through a 6-for-24 shooting performance in the finale, Bryant made it clear he wants Jackson to stay for at least another year.
“I’ve been openly blunt about how much I want him back,” Bryant said.
While he knows some roster turnover is inevitable, Bryant also believes the Lakers have a core capable of contending for another le, even if some combination of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Joe Johnson and other free agents gets together to form that long-anticipated, Justice League-style superteam.
Los Angeles has its own collection of heroes who realize they’ve got a good thing going at home.
“This is a great team dynamic we have here,” Bryant said. “We believe in each other, and we trust each other, and Phil is a big part of that.”
After winning his 11th championship in 13 finals appearances during just 19 seasons on an NBA bench with Chicago and the Lakers, Jackson claimed Thursday night he had “no clue” whether he would return next year, saying he hadn’t invested the time and energy necessary to determine whether he’s up for another season.
Yet Jackson has vacillated and equivocated for nine months when asked about his plans for next season. The Lakers are thought to want Jackson to take a cut from the $12 million to $14 million he made this season, depending on various bonuses.
Jackson, who has claimed his pay isn’t an issue, said he’ll announce his future before Thursday’s draft. The cautious assumption in Lakerland is that Jackson won’t turn down the chance to hobble toward a fourth threepeat, since that pursuit would be a natural endpoint to his unmatched career.
But not even the Lakers brass—except maybe his girlfriend, Lakers executive Jeanie Buss—apparently knows for sure just yet.
“It does improve my chances,” Jackson said with a grin when asked about winning another le.
Jackson also knows his championship team will have most of its big pieces back next season. Bryant and Gasol are under contract through 2014 after signing extensions over the last few months, while Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom still have three more years on their deals. Ron Artest also has contract options through 2014 after signing a five-year deal as the only new addition to the Lakers this season.
Starting point guard Derek Fisher is the Lakers’ most prominent free agent. While the 35-year-old struggled at times during the regular season, the five-time NBA champion repeatedly delivered big baskets in the postseason.
He also inspired the Lakers with an animated speech when they headed into the fourth quarter facing a four-point deficit in Game 7.
“He’s our emotional leader and our verbal leader,” Bryant said. “He said, ‘Guys, we’ve got 12 minutes to dig down, get back into this game. Everything that we’ve worked hard for, we’ve got 12 minutes to put it back together.’ … That’s D-Fish. That’s just who he is. There’s not enough words of praise that I can use to describe him.”
Fisher would make an outstanding backup point guard and reserve sparkplug for the Lakers, but they don’t currently have a better choice as a starter. That’s the downside of the Lakers’ long-term contracts: There’s not a tremendous amount of flexibility to add another key component, even in a trade.
Jordan Farmar, Fisher’s inconsistent backup, will be a restricted free agent, while improving guard Shannon Brown could opt out of a $2.1 million contract for next season in search of a pay raise.
The Lakers will spend the first weeks of their break from a 105-game season getting rest and rehabilitation—and surgery for Bynum, who played the last two months with a partially torn ligament in his right knee. Bryant has played with a broken finger, a sore back and an injured knee that was drained of fluid earlier in the playoffs, but isn’t anywhere close to full strength.
“It felt good enough to get through the playoffs,” Bryant said. “I’m obviously going to have to look at the knee and figure some things out. I can’t play a whole entire season the way it is now. Same thing with the finger. You know, without the tape, I can’t grip a basketball.”
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