<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">All eyes will be on owner Jerry Buss' luxury suite at Staples Center tonight where the man many fans see as the Lakers' savior will be hanging out with the boss. Former coach Phil Jackson will take up Buss on an offer extended before the season and attend the Lakers' game against the Houston Rockets, feeding speculation that somehow, some way he might come back to a team that, without him, failed to make the playoffs for the first time in 11 years. "People are asking me what he's going to do and I'm asking him the same questions,' said Jeanie Buss, the owner's daughter, Lakers executive vice president and Jackson's significant other. "I'm keeping my fingers crossed, for my own selfish reasons and for everyone else's.' Whether or not Jackson decides to return as Lakers coach this summer, the scene will be rich in symbolism Jerry Buss and Jackson seated side by side, especially with the Lakers having been eliminated from playoff contention Tuesday. "I think he thinks people really aren't going to notice he's there,' said Jeanie Buss, who calls Jackson "The Thumb' for the way he sticks out in a crowd. "I don't know. Is that crazy?' The fans already have made their preference for Jackson known, chanting "We want Phil' in the first game after Rudy Tomjanovich resigned as coach at midseason. They figure to make themselves heard again tonight. As for Jackson, nothing could have prepared him for how he has been received after returning from his six-week vacation to Australia and New Zealand in February. The 59-year-old coach's name was linked just enough to his old job to turn every Lakers fan into a lobbyist. Jeanie Buss recounted one scene that took place last weekend when the two were out in Manhattan Beach, typical of the exaggerated homage being paid to Jackson everywhere he goes these days. Two men spotted Jackson from a half-block away. They called out his name and pleaded for him to come back as coach. Then they dropped to their knees right on the sidewalk just to show how serious they were. "I think in some ways he's surprised by all the support he's received,' Jeanie Buss said. "I think that when he wasn't re-signed by the Lakers (after last season) he thought the city might turn against him in some way.' Not a chance, according to Jackson's agent, Brian Musburger. Jackson can't even go to the grocery store without being approached by someone who sees him as the Lakers' savior. "It's amazing to see him just try to get around town,' Musburger said. "It's crazier than when he was coach.' Although he will be sitting with Jerry Buss tonight, Jackson also will be playing host to a group of Inglewood students at the game. The Lakers will try to keep the television cameras from being trained on Jackson all night. "They're not going to talk business but they probably will talk about basketball,' Jeanie Buss said. "Then again, they might also talk about what book they last read.' For the record, the Lakers have yet to approach Jackson's representatives about their vacancy and Jackson has yet to decide whether he even wants to return to coaching. Such a decision likely won't take place until after the NBA Finals. Yet Jackson remains the No. 1 topic around the Lakers because of the one thing he offers hope at the end of this doomed season. There are those willing to bet everything that Jackson won't return to the Lakers, that the team won't even be serious bidders for his services. On the other side, there are those who see a ready-made situation for him and a coaching list with few other possibilities. The only statement Jerry Buss has made on the subject came last month in a television interview when he said he "very definitely' could see Jackson returning to the Lakers and called him "probably the best coach available.' But Jackson could find jobs with something to offer from at least four franchises this summer in addition to the Lakers. He could bring his career full circle with the New York Knicks, taking the seat on the bench that once belonged to his mentor Red Holzman, albeit with a team putting the finishing touches on its fourth-consecutive losing season. With openings in Minnesota and Cleveland, Jackson also could find the lure of coaching Kevin Garnett or LeBron James too great. Jeanie Buss said she is most scared about Jackson ending up with the Cavaliers. Even the Portland Trail Blazers' job, which comes with salary-cap space thanks to the expiring contracts of Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Damon Stoudamire and Nick Van Exel plus an owner worth $20 billion in Paul Allen, is said to interest Jackson. One thing is certain: Jackson won't come cheap, with the bidding likely to start at $10 million per season. Whether Jerry Buss or any owner is willing to cough up the money remains to be seen. There also is the consideration of which situation would offer Jackson the best chance to win a record 10th NBA title. The Lakers, who will miss the playoffs for the first time since 1994, may be years away from returning to that level. From his first week back in Los Angeles, Jackson regularly has stopped by the Lakers' practice facility to have lunch with Jeanie Buss. That his presence hasn't been disruptive is testament to how easily some say he could fit back in as coach. The situation is set for him to return with interim coach Frank Hamblen, a longtime Jackson assistant who installed the triangle offense after taking over for Tomjanovich and hired Brian Shaw and Kurt Rambis to his staff. Hamblen didn't even move into Jackson's old office. Whatever opinions Jackson has of these Lakers will have been formed long before tonight. He watches most of the team's games on TiVo with Jeanie Buss, even rewinding plays to get a second look, and sat through all of Sunday night's loss to Memphis. Jackson is said to be a fan of Lamar Odom and praised Caron Butler's play against the Grizzlies to Jeanie Buss. Then there is Kobe Bryant, who has said he would be willing to play for Jackson again but also has yet to speak with his former coach. In his best-selling diary of the 2003-04 season, Jackson wrote of fighting a "psychological war' with Bryant. But Jeanie Buss said she thought Jackson and Bryant could co-exist, whether that would mean with the Lakers or even something like the 2008 Olympic team.</div> http://www.dailynews.com/Stories/0,1413,20...2802847,00.html
We want phil....that sums it up. He carrys around alot of hardware (the tune of 9 championship rings with alot of little diamonds in them) and he didnt get them by accident folks. He knows winning and he has coached 6 of the greatest players ever to lace up sneakers (MJ,Pip,Shaq,Kobe,Karl,Gary) and he made them all finals contenders and winners (except KM,GP) Bottom line... You make the first step to success by adding the Hall of fame director, you already have the leading actor....add the supporting cast and you have the makings of a classic award winner.....LA does nothing but win championships....
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting DMKfromTPL:</div><div class="quote_post">We want phil....that sums it up. He carrys around alot of hardware (the tune of 9 championship rings with alot of little diamonds in them) and he didnt get them by accident folks. He knows winning and he has coached 6 of the greatest players ever to lace up sneakers (MJ,Pip,Shaq,Kobe,Karl,Gary) and he made them all finals contenders and winners (except KM,GP) Bottom line... You make the first step to success by adding the Hall of fame director, you already have the leading actor....add the supporting cast and you have the makings of a classic award winner.....LA does nothing but win championships....</div> I disagree. I hate all of this talk about Phil. It shows a total lack of creativity inside the Lakers organization. It makes me worried that they have no clue how to solve the current situation and just want to fall back on what worked in the past. I wish that they'd kept Phil (and Shaq) but now it's time to move on.
