<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">King Phil was back! Back in the building, back looking down upon the masses. Phil Jackson is remarkably more popular in Los Angeles than ever. A season of professional inactivity has strangely elevated his standing to supreme redeemer. Lakers fans humbled by a disastrous season, throw pedals at his feet wherever he goes. Hand him a latte as he enters Starbucks. Fall at his feet on the street and beg him to return. And now there he was Thursday, up in the owner's suite, taking in the misbegotten Lakers' latest loss. Just so close. On one side sat Jeanie Buss, the owner's daughter who has undergone something of a remarkable transformation herself. Either Jeanie has suddenly become the most media-hungry woman taking breath, or she's pulling off the greatest marketing campaign in sports history. Jeanie keeps talking to every functioning media outlet in the land, all while telling them absolutely nothing. Her oft-repeated line: "The Lakers haven't decided the direction they're going to take in searching for a new coach, but you know who I'd selfishly love to have." There is this understood wink, wink, whether in print, on the radio or television. Yes, Jeanie sure misses her man Phil and would love for dad to spring for a fat new contract. The result of this heavy personal pursuit has been to keep the "Phil will come back to the Lakers" storyline very much alive. And in possibly the worst Lakers season in Los Angeles history, it has diverted the faithful and given them something promising to anticipate, save for a wrecking ball. That's a pretty savvy distraction for a dismal, mismatched -- anybody need a small forward? -- Lakers team that will miss the playoffs for the first time in 11 years. The man ultimately responsible for everything Lakers, Jerry Buss, sat a couple seats to the other side of Jackson. At least for some of the game. It was supposed to be this casual little get together, where the two would chat about -- oh, you know, movies or something -- anything but that vacant -- Lakers coaching job. Hate to play pin to the purple-and-gold bubble, but they appeared to speak little, if at all, during the game. Betting the future of the Lakers did not come up, which is just as well. All those people who believe Jackson can play savior to these Lakers were spending too much time looking into the owners' suite and not enough on the court. It's hard to imagine why Jackson and his nine championship rings would want to return to the Lakers, unless you count money and Jeanie. "He's a great closer," said Lakers interim coach Frank Hamblen. "I don't know if he's a great fixer-upper."</div> I think Hamblen's quote is the reason why Phil would actually consider coming back to the Lakers. The only knock on Phil is that he's never built a championship team. He's only inherited great teams and helped put them over the top. Phil Jackson enjoys a challenge, and if he can take one of the worst Laker teams in franchise history and turn them around, his legacy will be at its peak. However, if he fails then his legacy takes a huge blow. It's a gamble for Phil Jackson. Are you a gambler Phil?
