It has been reported that the Los Angeles Lakers are consulting with one of their former coaches, legend Phil Jackson, for advice on who to hire as their next coach.
Some feel that giving Jackson some input, but no final say, is not a bad thing, given Jackson’s outstanding intelligence, leadership knowledge and ability to judge character and intangibles.
But reportedly, some who are “close to the Lakers” don’t like the idea of Jackson playing any type of role in the team’s coaching search.
Via Lakers Daily:
“The report revealed that the former Lakers head coach is “significantly involved” in the current process. Now, an update on that story has offered some insight into how some powerful individuals close to the Lakers feel about Jackson’s role in the search. It sounds like those powerful people are not so happy about it.
“’Make no mistake, there are powerful people close to the Lakers who aren’t thrilled with the reality that Jackson’s voice is being taken into account when he has no formal position with the franchise,’ Sam Amick of The Athletic reported. ‘Like it or not, though, [Jeanie] Buss has relied on this sort of informal counsel from people she trusts for years now. That was the case with Kobe Bryant before his passing and had everything to do with the choice to hire his former agent, Lakers vice president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka, in February 2017.’”
Family has always been important to the Lakers ever since the late Dr. Jerry Buss purchased the club in 1979. Today, his daughter Jeanie Buss owns the team, and she has been criticized for leaning too heavily on members of the Lakers family not just for counsel, for also for official front office positions.
Kurt Rambis, a key role player during the Lakers’ Showtime era in the 1980s, holds a somewhat vague role as senior basketball adviser, despite lacking front office experience prior to getting that role.
