If Jim Buss weren’t so butt-hurt over how much his father respects Phil Jackson then the Lakers could benefit from having another hoops mind in the front office. This week it was revealed that the Orlando Magic had discussions with PJ over their vacant GM position. The L.A. Times also claims that Jackson was being considered in a consulting capacity as well.
Sounds like Jackson is looking to get back into the game and not as a coach.
If Jim Buss could get beyond his jealousy of Jackson then maybe a L.A. reunion would be in the cards. Being that it took more than a year to get Mitch Kupchak a new assistant GM it stands to reason that the Laker front office has needed help for sometime.
This team is entering a new era and some tough basketball decisions will need to be made soon.
Obviously the GM job is all Kupchak’s. There is no need to dust up more drama by canning Mitch for Phil. Plus I highly doubt Jackson is at all interested in putting in the long hours required by the GM gig. However in a consulting role you could get great value out of Jackson.
Again, that’s only if Jim Buss is willing to make room in his sandbox to let PJ play.
The worst kept secret in L.A. is how badly Jim Buss wanted to move on from anything and everything Jackson-related. So the likelihood of any olive branches being extended is about as probable as a Kardashian developing an actual skill.
Still, you can’t help but wonder what it might be like to have a respected mind like Jackson’s around guys he’s coached and knows how to handle. If the Lakers are serious about building around Andrew Bynum then they’re going to need someone with the right approach to pull him aside on occasion and tell him like it is. Mike Brown could stand to learn a thing or two on how to handle the difficult personalities of the NBA and who better to teach that than Jackson?
On paper the situation is ideal. In reality it would never work though. Not with butt-hurt Buss running the show. So just chalk this up to wishful thinking and offseason boredom.