<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Dear Phil, Since you left, things haven't been the same. The Lakers are awful, and even worse, they're boring. No more NBA titles, no more superstar feuds and, well, no more superstars, except for Kobe, and hardly anyone in this city even blinked when Chucky Atkins took a thinly-veiled shot at Kobe's role within the offense. Remember the good old days when you did the same thing and the whole town went nuts? Obviously you're quite busy these days. Snorkeling and meditating can take a lot out of a man. But as you begin to ponder your future, there's something you should know: the Lakers need you, badly. If you should decide to return to coaching, which seems inevitable, there will be several intriguing options, This season isn't even finished and already we know Minnesota, New York and Portland will be accepting applications this summer. No doubt several other teams will soon be joining that list. Your love of New York is well chronicled, and the other two cities are close enough to the hinterlands to fit in your comfort zone. But come on, have you taken a look at those teams recently? The Timberwolves are going backward so fast, they're about to start time-traveling. By the end of the month, they'll be in 1998. Sure, it would be intriguing to coach an unselfish superstar such as Kevin Garnett, but that's a stale team in desperate need of a makeover. Do you have the patience for that? The Knicks? What can you say? A large percentage of people who own fantasy basketball teams do a better job than GM Isiah Thomas does with the Knicks. To Thomas' credit, he's trying to reshape the roster, but it seems as though every move he makes only puts the Knicks in deeper trouble.</div> Source
