Will Phil Jackson’s Return to Lakers Mean Anything?
Now I’m not sure if Phil knew this at the time he signed the contract but there’s a guy on that team by the name of Kobe Bryant. If you’re asking if this is the same Kobe Bryant with whom Jackson had a tumultuous five year coach/player relationship, yes they’re one in the same.
Not since Billy Martin uttered that Reggie Jackson and George Steinbrenner deserved each other has there been two individuals who embody the “can’t live with you, can’t live without you” philosophy. Kobe, the $136 million dollar man, got everything he wanted except a team that was competent. And Phil, a man on an island with surrounded ships (the Knicks, the Cavs, and the Timberwolves) only for a myriad of reasons wanted to be in L.A. And if this meant getting back in Kobe’s good graces and ignoring everything he wrote in his book, he was willing to do that. The question is what happens in mid February when this team of barely walking veterans (Vlade Divac) and talented underachievers (Lamar Odom) are in the bottom half of the western conference standings. Would Jeane Buss and $30 million be enough to sooth Phil’s anguish? Okay stupid question but you’ve got to figure why a guy whose legacy is already being questioned would set himself up for this kind of ridicule. And what about Phil’s book? To borrow a line from my grandmother, he called Kobe everything but a child of God. How does Kobe react now that Phil clearly knows that he is Buss’s number 1 guy? Is it possible he’s more “uncoachable” than he ever was?
Well good luck Phil. No Shaq. No postseason. No tenth ring, which was the biggest reason you came back, and congrats Kobe, another year watching the playoffs because you couldn’t make Chris Mihm and Slava Medvedenko all stars. You know I always wondered how people could talk out both sides of their mouth but then again it is show business.
